Londoners get to have their say on community hubs for those experiencing homelessness

Londoners can offer their input on what should be included in community hubs that will provide the city's vulnerable population with wraparound supports and resources to rebuild their lives.

In the first of a series of community engagement sessions hosted by city officials on Wednesday, south London residents weighed in on where the hubs should be set up, and how they can be good neighbours to others in the community. 

"I felt that it was important to echo that these hubs should be welcomed everywhere, and that we see there are individuals who need support and there are neighbours to support them," said Shannon Sinclair, who was one of a dozen Londoners at the session. 

As an occupational therapist, Sinclair said she wants accessibility to be a priority in the hubs, so that people with special mobility, vision and sensory needs can use the hubs to their fullest potential.

As part of its plan to tackle the housing crisis, the City of London will create 15 hubs scattered in different neighbourhoods to give people struggling with housing, unemployment, or addiction, wraparound services to have their basic needs met and get support with finding housing.

Hubs to have 14 main functions

London plans to have five hubs set up before the end of the year, and although its locations and functions haven't been decided yet, public input will help run them in a way that benefits everyone in the community, said Kevin Dickins, the city's deputy manager. 

"Whether you're observing or feeling the impact of homelessness, or whether you're just a Londoner who is feeling precariously housed, this is top of mind for everyone," said Dickins.

The hubs will deliver 14 functions that include:

• Coordinated multi-agency intake
• Coordinated outreach and warm transfers
• Transportation
• Basic needs (food, shower, laundry, rest)
• Quick access to acute and primary care
• Housing access support 
• Integrated care planning 
• Translation
• Health and wellness services (harm reduction, mental health treatment, stabilization)
• 24/7 safe spaces (population-specific, private, semi-private, come and go)
• Transitional crisis stabilization beds
• Justice system services
• One number to call for referral

Sinclair also brought her young kids, Audrey, 14, and Jillian, 10, to the drop-in session because she wants them to be informed members of the community who can help others in their neighbourhood, she said.

"People have biases against homeless people that they're bad or dangerous and that keeps these [hubs] from happening because people don't want those in their neighbourhood," Audrey said. "I think that people just need to learn that it's okay for people to need help."

Sinclair said although she understands why some people have safety concerns regarding homelessness, she believes it shouldn't deter the community from helping those in need.

"Anywhere people gather there's an increased risk of garbage, violence, and vandalism. But they're not necessarily reasons why something shouldn't happen and why people shouldn't be able to access resources they need ," she said. 

Feedback collected from an online survey and drop-in sessions various community centres until June 26, will be given to a team designing the hub's implementation plan. It will then be brought to council by mid-July, Dickins said. 

"The real time feedback we get from the community goes right back to that table to design and help craft a plan that will say 'Here's the criteria we're going to use when it comes time to decide where they go and how they become good neighbours.''