The outdoor homeless shelter at 1001 Erb Street, beside the landfill on the outskirts of Waterloo, opened earlier this year, and it has not been a smooth ride for many of the residents.

CKMS has been told that complaints abound. We have heard that residents pay to live there, and they claim they have not received their leases, that kitchen is not adequate, transport services are limited, and that break-ins are common. It is not easy to independently verify this information because the public can not go to the site uninvited and multiple attempts to contact the Region about this issue have been ignored.

Jaime Steif is a supporter and an advocate for the unsheltered population. She has been to 1001 Erb Street and she has talked with the residents with these complaints. Jaime talked to CKMS news to clarify and explain the concerns.

Steif talks about the impact this is having with growing encampments. The shelter is quite far out of town, beyond the Wilmot Line and beyond the landfill. It is also beyond the Costco store which guarantees a steady line of cars along Erb Street. There is a shoulder to the road but no designated walking area. With limited transport options, getting anywhere can be a challenge. Many people who are facing homelessness do not want to live so far away from town.

Waterloo Region Community Legal Services (WRCLS) have begun to dig into these complaints. CKMS news also talked to Patty Mzite, an Intake and Community Legal Worker at the WRCLS, about her investigations. While she was able to clear up the lease issue and determine why the kitchen does not have more sophisticated cooking facilities. The transport issue is still unsolved and with winter on the way, if a solution isn’t found soon, this issue will become urgent.

With winter approaching, the ongoing issue of encampments will also become more urgent. In January 2023, Ontario superior court ruled that the encampment at Victoria and Weber could not be taken down because there was nowhere else for the residents of the encampment to go. But yet, many other encampments in the Region are regularly taken down, for example an encampment at 150 Main St in Galt was removed in August. There is not a new shelter, and the number of beds has not increased greatly. The precedent was set, but yet encampments are still being taken down.

This is a complex issue, but there are examples of cities piloting different ideas, including Hamilton, Ontario. Mzite explains their ideas and strategy.

The stakeholders, government and greater community will have an opportunity to come together to find solutions on October 17 with the WRCLS Poverty Reduction fall forum, which will seek to address systemic issues that perpetuate the cycle of poverty and the criminalization of individuals living in poverty.

Listen to today's show with Jaime Steif and Patty Mzite of the WRCLS