Homelessness should be prioritized in Welland

RE: WELLAND’S HOMELESS DIRECTED TO ST. CATHARINES FOR WARMTH, JAN.22

The homeless in Welland, as in other cities, are too often parts of the urban scenery — recognizable yet unknown, thought about mostly when temperatures drop below -15 C.

In Welland, while there are no easily found statistics or names about who and how many people live homeless, there is a growing recognition that the lack of accommodations has been endemic for a while.

In a 2018 article, Welland Mayor Frank Campion said that the city is actively prioritizing a strategy to combat homelessness while working with local agencies and police to assist those people living outdoors.

While the city promises to try to combat homelessness, Welland has recently offered to pay to bus homeless people to St. Catharines, as we continue to hear stories of forced leave by the police.

There are currently no shelters in Welland that provide structured support while the trend of precarious housing is clear.

The city’s provisional networks are basically non-existent, there has been no concerted effort to help fund emergency shelters, yet demand is increasing.

“It’s certainly at the top of the list — affordable housing, homelessness as an issue,” the mayor says.

Without their stories, without proper statistics about this crisis unfolding, homeless people are being dismissed as a political issue.

Let’s change that.

Let us put this emergency at the top of our list. Let’s take the time to hear their stories; let us raise our voices and hold the mayor accountable to his words.

Melissa Nagy

Welland/Guelph