Niagara being shortchanged on homeless funding: councillors
Mayor Sendzik says region underfunded $28 million over the past several years
Niagara Region needs to take a more aggressive approach to ensuring it receives its fair share of funding to address homelessness.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik estimated the region has been underfunded “upwards of $28 million” in Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) funding in the seven years since the provincial government program began.
While considering a report at Tuesday’s public health and social services committee meeting outlining how Niagara would spend $7.8 million in CHPI funding expected this year, Sendzik amended a motion to also direct Region Chair Jim Bradley and Niagara’s senior staff to continue advocating for the same level of funding that is allocated to municipalities with a similar size and need.
“It’s getting to the point where it’s insulting that the province won’t create a more equitable field for us to access the funds that we require,” Sendzik said.
“The province needs to shoulder some of the blame on our ability of not being able to catch up on the issues related to homelessness.”
St. Catharines Coun. Tim Rigby said regional representatives should raise the issue with provincial government representatives at every opportunity.
“I think we need to go forward and be more aggressive on it, in our approach,” he said.
Social services commissioner Adrienne Jugley said Niagara receives about $2.5 million to $4 million less in annual CHPI allocations compared to other regions with a similar population, core housing need and other objective indicators of need.
That trend has continued every year since 2013 when the CHPI was established, said the region’s homelessness services director, Cathy Cousins.
Niagara, she added, was also shortchanged under some of the province’s homelessness funding programs that preceded the CHPI. Sendzik said that funding could have made a difference for the homeless in Niagara if it had been provided in past years.
“To date, we’re approximately anywhere between $20 (million) and $28 million shortened on our ability to deal with homelessness verses other communities of our size,” Sendzik said. “Just imagine if the region had the opportunity to have those funds available to be able to deal with the issues that we’re facing as a community.”
Rigby said there is a long history of Niagara “not receiving its fair share of the funding that goes forward.”
He said he understands the limitations that upper-tier governments face when developing budgets, “but it has been far too long of a time that we have been at the bottom end of the funding process.”