EXCLUSIVE: Documents show leadership group overseeing London’s homelessness strategy was losing purpose and focus

An assessment of the leadership of the Whole of Community System Response to Homelessness shows members lost focus. CTV London's Daryl Newcombe reports.

Changes are coming to the leadership behind London’s Whole of Community System Response to Homelessness (WCSRH) after a self-assessment and review by members of the Strategy and Accountability Table (SAT) determined it was losing focus and its sense of purpose.

Documents obtained by CTV News that were discussed at the SAT meeting on June 5 warn:

• “The SAT, an important vehicle for cross-sector collaboration and rapid action, had begun to lose clarity of purpose, strategic focus, and representative engagement.”
• “Fragile Trust, Rising Tensions: The weight of system strain has taken its toll, on relationships, on morale, on psychological safety. Participants spoke about anxieties about speaking candidly, power imbalances and the need for relationship repair.”
• “People are scared to say the wrong thing in font of the wrong person. – Participant”

Coun. Susan Stevenson made several attempts to get more information about the Strategy and Accountability Table during recent committee and council meetings.

She expressed shock after CTV News showed her the documents.

“I can tell you, from reading this my trust is shattered in this Whole of Community System Response,” Stevenson said. “I think every councilor needs to read that report and publicly respond.”

After the SAT meeting, CTV News spoke to Co-Chair Jodi Younger and Deputy City Manager Kevin Dickins, who is a member.

“What we just heard today was 100 per cent support for the map forward,” Younger said about the renewed purpose and structure of SAT proposed at the meeting. “It’s going to look and feel a little different.”

“The renewed SAT focuses on overseeing strategy, driving coordinated action, and building ecosystem support,” the report reads.

“For any entity at the two-year mark, it’s time to reflect and look back. Where are we? Where are we heading? What’s working? What’s not?” explained Dickins.

Younger doesn’t want some of the internal evaluation’s positive findings to be overlooked, “There’s people who were highly engaged, excited, celebrating some of the great work that’s happened and the opportunities ahead.”

The document reads, “System participants still believe in the vision. There is energy for what’s next, if it’s focused, inclusive, and brave enough to name what hasn’t been working.”

At least three times over the last month, municipal representatives on SAT (Dickins, Mayor Morgan, Budget Chair Peloza) mentioned that a review and renewal process is underway-- but the documents obtained by CTV News are the first disclosure that there were concerns about focus, engagement, and tensions.

Dickins said the discussions in council chambers pre-dated the results of the review.

“It would be putting the cart before the horse a little bit to be talking about some of the feedback we gathered through this engagement process before we actually got to discuss the feedback,” he told CTV News.

The SAT meeting also considered a shift from city-led communications to a “community-owned voice” that would increase awareness, demonstrate impact, promote organizational collaboration, and address public concerns.

However, Stevenson questioned the proposed use of radio, internet, social media, and bus shelter advertising.

“The crisis is about homelessness and addiction!” Stevenson steamed. “It isn’t an image crisis for the Whole of Community System Response!”

The report states that a new Communications Working Group will oversee a “Back to Basics” public awareness campaign intended to educate Londoners about the WCSRH.

“When we’re talking about advertising, it is not advertising about homelessness,” added Younger. “It’s advertising about what we’re doing about it as a community and how our broader community can be part of that.”