KEEPING YOU INFORMED

By Maurice Brenner Deputy Mayor/Regional Councillor Ward 1 Pickering Potential Crisis Faces Homeless and Food Deprive As Christmas is quickly coming, the needs of the Homeless and those that are food deprive could never be greater and once again Municipalities who are grass roots will need to find the funds to fill the financial voids. In Durham Region, data shows a 67 per cent increase in people experiencing unsheltered homelessness over the past year. Regional Staff have been meeting regularly with counterparts across the GTHA, sharing best practices and approaches to service delivery, and collaborate advocacy efforts for additional funding and policy changes at both the Provincial and Federal levels of Government. While funding announcements are appreciated, when you compare the reductions in funding compared to an increasing population that are and will experience homelessness, Municipalities will face a serious funding crisis that is not sustainable, with pressures increasing as Shelter Capacity decreases along with a lack of available affordable housing. A recent report presented to Durham Region Health and Social Services compared the current level of funding and how it will decrease by 2028. Based on current trends, the need will continue to increase while funding decreases and unless the Upper Tiers at the very least maintain current levels of funding, more and more will find themselves on the street which is why the Health and Social Services Committee past unanimously a motion to pressure both the Province and the Federal Government to reverse these reductions. Current Funding 2023-2024 - $4,956,872 New Allocations 2024-2025 - $ 4666,872 2025-2026 - $ 4666,872 2026-2027- $ 940,221 2027-2028 - $ 940,221 Side by side with the increasing numbers of those finding themselves homeless is the growing numbers of those who turn to Food banks. A snap shot of the City of Pickering and the St Paul’s On the Hill Food Bank, which like so many other Food Banks is a volunteer based organization who is struggling to keep up with demands. Over the past year demand for services has increased 41.63% as a result of an erosion of social support programs and the lack of affordable housing. From January 1st to November 30th 2023, they served 26,704 individuals including 9,298 children compared to 18,854 individuals for the same time period in 2022. On average each month 65 new families turn to the food bank with a majority family size of 6 or more. St Pauls on the Hill has reached out to Pickering and has requested emergency funding to get them through the Christmas Season with a $8763.52 financial support to cover the cost on increasing rent in the storage unit (4,511.27 of that amount will be used for rent cost for December and the other $4,252.2 will be used to purchase the milk and eggs distributed to our clients for December. The amount for the milk and eggs is based off November’s expense. While I am confident that this will be supported by Pickering Council, we will need to look at a more sustainable solution to ensure that no is food deprived not just in December but all year.