Homelessness consultant meets with stakeholders in Timmins

Homelessness consultant comes to Timmins Iain De Jong, a consultant on preventing and solving chronic homelessness meets with stakeholders in Timmins.

The Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB) is working with a consultant who has extensive experience in addressing homelessness.

Iain De Jong, originally from Sault Ste. Marie, is in Timmins this week, meeting with Timmins Council and agencies that work with people who need a place to live.

“Every person who experiences homelessness in this community or others really only falls into one of three categories: they’re someone’s parent, someone’s child or someone’s sibling," said De Jong, president and CEO of Orgcode Consulting.

"It is our intention to work with the community to build upon that compassion and align it with what we know works to make sure we’re helping as many people as possible."

De Jong wants to end homelessness and said if people and organizations work together, chronic homelessness can be reduced and prevented.

"If we lose sight of the humanity, the numbers won’t really matter," said De Jong.

Last month, CDSSAB received $11.6 million to create a system that provides custom-based solutions that can identify need, be mobilized quickly and that is recovery-focused.

“When you think about prevention it’s not only thinking about preventing somebody who’s never been homeless or becoming homeless,” said Brian Marks, chief administrative officer for CDSSAB.

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“It’s also about once someone gets housed, preventing them from going back to the shelter or back to the street and there are different strategies to be applied.”

De Jong will be making more visits to Timmins in the coming months to continue to guide agencies on their paths to helping people get and remain housed, including meeting people with lived experience.