City reports progress in getting Sudbury's homeless into housing

From homeless to housed Those who work with vulnerable people said steady progress is being made getting people out of the elements.

Those who work with vulnerable people in Greater Sudbury say steady progress has been made getting people out of the elements, but acknowledge there is still a lot of work to do.

Many community partners have been working together to deal with the homelessness crisis in Sudbury and are using some new tools to get people housed.

Officials with the Homelessness Network say since last November, a number of community agencies have helped 63 people find a place to call home.

"We know there are at least eight or nine more that are in bridge housing right now, which means waiting in a motel until their addresses are confirmed for March 1," said Ray Landry, the co-ordination of the Homelessness Network.

"So we are expecting that upwards of 70 people will have found housing who were once homeless or as part of the encampment in the downtown core."

The city confirmed the last two tents at the encampment at Tom Davies Square came down last week. Housing navigators work with individuals to secure housing options through programs like flex funding.

"It has been helpful. We’ve had the opportunity to assist 15 individuals since November, since it came into place," said Tyler Campbell, director of child and social services with the City of Greater Sudbury.

"The majority of those individuals were either reunited with family in another community or they had access to supports and services or housing in another community."

Officials said flex funding is solely for immediate practical solutions.

"The other piece to flex funding is that it was intended for situations that aren’t easily resolved through other sources of provincial funding," said Campbell.

City officials and the Homelessness Network agree there is still a lot of work to be done. There are currently 109 people registered on the list to find housing who are still living outdoors or using shelters and the warming centre.