On a recent visit after school hours to Chippewa Street West to learn more about the school board's installation of noise-emitting anti-loitering devices at the high school, within minutes of arrival BayToday encountered several instances of social disorder, all of it on display for Chippewa students and their families as they left the property at dusk via the north parking lot following practice for athletic teams and other after-school programming.
Awaiting the opening of the low-barrier shelter for the evening, the clients descended on the Northern Pines property. Some came from the walking bridge, others from the direction of downtown via Cassells Street, while some just appeared out of nowhere as if they had been waiting in the nearby bushes. Most were muttering or talking to themselves. Some were screaming. All of them were milling along the road as if wrangled between the fences at Northern Pines and Chippewa.
One male argued with a female, threw a scooter as far as he could onto the school's property, retrieved it and stormed off while the two hired Northern Pines security guards warned him against further outbursts at the penalty of losing his spot in the shelter for the night. The guards followed the man down Chippewa West (see photo above) while another security guard hired by the Near North District School Board kept watch over the school property as the low-barrier shelter clients were either admitted or turned away.
See related: Chippewa warming centre operators promise to 'mitigate issues'
For those keeping score, this short stretch of Chippewa Street West is fenced off to the north, $611,000 worth of fences now encircle the high school, the board installed anti-loitering devices and security cameras at the school, and three people guard the Northern Pines and school properties at least for part of the day. There is no denying these community members need help but it's safe to say the transient traffic between the sleeping quarters and the services needed has been an issue for the neighbourhood for some time.
PODCAST: King on homeless hub, warming centre and Chippewa
District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board Chair Mark King describes the ongoing issues regarding the operation of the low-barrier shelter at Northern Pines, the proximity of several schools and daycare providers — especially Chippewa Intermediate and Secondary School directly across the road from the shelter — the interactions at nearby facilities for seniors and the neighbouring community members as "complicated."
Once a staunch supporter of operating the shelter on Chippewa Street West, King has relented and adapted his stance. He now guarantees any new hub offering services to the homeless community "will not go near a school."
See also: DNSSAB recognizes 'no perfect location' for 24/7 hub
The DNSSAB Board recently spoke publicly about its combined service partner application to become one of Ontario's first 10 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs. This is a funding stream made available by the provincial government for projects such as the permanent 24/7 shelter and housing hub discussed for the past six months. The application is complete and has been sent.
The designation as a HART Hub would fund a permanent space that would offer housing supports as well as connections to other needed social and health services and would incorporate overnight shelter services. DNSSAB hired a real estate agent months ago to seek out potential locations that would meet the needs of the proposed hub, which include a space of a minimum of 4,000 square feet, within walking distance of North Bay’s downtown core where other social services are located, or easily accessible to other services.
According to Ontario Ministry of Health documents on the HART Hubs, "The intention is that the hubs will be operational by winter 2025 and that each hub will be able to provide low-barrier access to a range of locally identified services that best meet the complex needs of individuals who experience a range of overlapping issues and marginalization including homelessness; substance use issues; mental health challenges; social service support needs; and unemployment."
That operational timeline could prove a tad challenging but a discussion about the HART Hub application came during the DNSSAB Board meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 23. King, in his remarks to open the meeting, saluted DNSSAB staff, as well as those from the Canadian Medical Health Association North Bay and District, North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce, and the Crisis Centre North Bay for their efforts.
"There was only a short time to work on the application but the results are good," King said to DNSSAB CAO Melanie Shaye.
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Later, in her report to the Board, Shaye added, "I'd like to thank the entire housing team for their work on the application, as well as senior staff at CMHA and the Crisis Centre North Bay. I think it exemplifies a community spirit in really wanting to drive this topic forward. We were very pleased with the number of letters of support and look forward and appreciate the MPP's interest in the application, so keep your fingers crossed."
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The hub concept remains essentially the same as what was discussed in a special meeting of the DNSSAB Board in late July. King promised then there would be consultations held with various stakeholders and the community at large before any hub was established.
See also: A new homeless hub near downtown North Bay?
"We went to the community," King says, "with that special meeting to listen to everyone, to see what what their response was, and part of the problem was the original housing proposal, which suggested within one or two blocks of the downtown core. Well, it became obvious that that wasn't what the community wanted. So I would suggest at this point, depending on the availability of property, it will be well outside the core, and that's what we're working toward."
And: Will public consultation quiet 'homeless hub' hubbub?
King says DNSSAB has been examining ways to fund a new hub on its own.
"It's complicated. We've got so much pressure on us because of the low-barrier shelter and transitional housing at Northern Pines. There is a movement afoot to get rid of the low-barrier shelter at that location. So the thought process was that we'd move the low-barrier shelter into a hub somewhere else away from the school. And then the province recognized that there was probably some value in funding these hubs, as long as they had community buy-in from the partners.
"So, this financing arrangement at the provincial level went out to all kinds of communities. In Timmins, for example, they're working on theirs right now. They bought a hotel, believe it or not. So, I mean, our process is we're in the line. We're hoping we're successful because that would provide the money to move forward with this, this whole process of, number one, moving the low-barrier shelter, putting it in another location where there are full services away from the school."
If the funding is not approved, King is unsure what will happen with the hub project in North Bay. "It really is hinging on the potential funding. But if it doesn't happen and the funding doesn't come, I'm sure the ask will go back to DNSSAB to see if we can find the money to basically support it. And, we don't know if that is a viable situation, that is yet to be determined because we don't know what the actual cost is going to be."
Following the special meeting in July, a DNSSAB release acknowledged there was "no perfect location" for a hub and "locations not considered ideal are areas directly adjacent to elementary schools, splash pads, wading pools, licensed child care centres or within a residential neighbourhood interior."
Asked if he could share any potential locations for the potential hub, King would not for fear of interfering with negotiations.
As the DNSSAB stated in July, "None of the locations currently being investigated can be shared as this may impact the negotiations of any property being considered, however, communication with neighbours and the community will occur when the board arrives at a decision and they are in a position to provide more information."
