No decision made on where to put homeless winter warming room in Northumberland County

Northumberland County Council. Photo courtesy of Northumberland County.

By: Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, Local Journalism Initiative.

As county mayors examine where to put a warming hub for homeless people this winter, a staff report lays out several options with two outside of Cobourg.

The report presented and debated Wednesday by the mayors states that the paramedic facility on William Street in Cobourg, the Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre in Colborne and the Fenella Hall are potential possibilities. The two rural options would require daily transportation services.

Integrated Homelessness and Addiction Response Centre Director Jordan Stevenson presented to county council Wednesday saying none of the options will address the real problem of addictions ad homelessness.

He said busing people out of Cobourg could present challenges, in the event of a medical emergency, a physical altercation or potentially people using substances.

“It would be a low uptick because people would miss the bus. It's a scary component. What happens if there is a crisis on the bus?” Stevenson asked. He estimated few people would use the transportation, suggesting that the funds be better used for alternative programs.

Michelle Day, who lives in Fenella, presented second. Her concerns are that Fenella is too small of a community, adding it has few stores. She predicts a police response to an emergency that will be slowed due to Fenella’s distance from Cobourg.

“To get the OPP to come for anything takes a long time. So, there’s going to be a lot of things that happen. There’s very few stores. There’s going to be a lot of robbery and a lot of theft,” said Day.

The county spends approximately $8 million a year on homeless programs, much of that subsidized. 

The warming room at 310 Division Street in Cobourg closed July 4, with the remodeling of services at the shelter.

The county put out an expression of interest for a warming facility, stipulating that if it were in Cobourg, it would be located on County property.

While Cobourg residents and businesses have expressed frustration with the situation of the shelter in the downtown core, stigmatization of homelessness is a concern. Cramahe Township Mayor Mandy Martin cautioned that some people who are homeless are struggling to find accommodation, but are not addicted. Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland countered saying there are programs already in place to assist people wanting help.

Trent Hills Mayor Bob Crate expressed annoyance questioning how much money is being spent on people, who are not ready to improve their lives.

“We seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time and money for very few people that really don’t want our help. I’m getting to the point where I’d like to help those that would like help and provide whatever services they need. But, I’m getting frustrated by the fact we are here dealing with, I don’t know, five people involved in this situation,” explained Crate.

He added that there comes a time in life when people need to take responsibility for themselves.

Council did go into closed session to discuss the warming room and other confidential matters, but when resumed in open session, voted to defer the warming room report to an emergency meeting. A date was not set to resume discussions.