A Temporary Solution for the Homeless This Winter
|
Below is an email that I sent out to all candidates
to see if they would support a low cost solution to provide
temporary housing for some of our homeless population this winter.
The responses were somewhat predictable. Current members of council
were largely quiet on this topic while most candidates for council
believe that if Charlottetown can do it why can't Owen Sound.. |
||||
|
Candidates for Council, It was announced in September that the city of Charlottetown, PEI will house its homeless this winter in modular sleeping units. You can read a number of articles on this initiative aimed at providing the homeless with a warm bed during the winter months at this link. Click or Tap Here From what I can gather from these articles, each module costs about $30,000 and houses 4 or 5 beds. I know that the majority council members believe that Owen Sound’s homeless are the County’s problem. However, this is an opportunity for Owen Sound to be a leader among County municipalities. Council has never been hesitant in the past to spend our tax dollars on services that are not at all highly valued by most of the community. Homelessness, however, is an issue that is on the minds of the many residents. This year Council approved a $500,000 budget increase for Transit. We now know that this increase, which was responsible for much of this year’s tax increase, was largely unnecessary. The contract price did not increase as anticipated and ridership is up so the budgeted 50% reduction the fare-box is unlikely to materialize. Similarly, Council approved a 77% increase the Art Gallery budget over the last 5 year. As a result, we now spend $220,482 more each year on the Art Gallery than we did in 2018. In addition, Council approved two Art Gallery studies aimed at providing the gallery with a new $30 million building. Interestingly, the cost of these studies, $30,000, is pretty much the same as cost of one of these modular units that potentially could save a life this winter. The community survey indicated that both Transit and the Art Gallery were services that were valued by less than 8% of residents. Yes Richard, we do measure “value” by the number of people who walk through the door. In contrast "affordable housing, cost of living, and homelessness" was identified as the number one issue facing Owen Sound today.
|
||||
|
Do you support this initiative to help Owen Sound's homeless keep warn this winter? |
|
|
|