Hastings County wants to get serious about how it handles homelessness.
The County’s Community and Human Services Committee received a Supportive Housing Enviormnetal Scan that it commissioned earlier this year. As part of the plan, the County has laid out a number of goals it wants to achieve in the next decade.
Among the recommendations the report lays out, the Committee says there is a need to address what it calls a “discrepancy” in services in North Hastings. The County’s Community Response Team is continuing to work with the homeless population and create a collaborative approach to the region. They say further engagement with the public and with agencies is required to fix this problem.
Other recommendations include exploring short-term solutions by working with local organizations. They also suggest establishing an oversight committee, bringing agencies together to create a long-term plan, supporting the development of housing and support services, and exploring the housing needs of First Nations and women to understand their specific housing needs.
The Committee will now develop a work plan that will help the county achieve its goals. It plans to work with several ministries, like the Ministry of Health, to get the plan done.