As London’s homelessness crisis worsens, questions are being asked at city hall about how to prioritize spending amid a looming multi-million dollar reduction to federal funding for housing stability services. Next week, council will consider endorsing a multi-year Housing Stability Services (HSS) procurement framework that responds to a $4.2 million reduction in federal funding when the Unsheltered Homeless Encampment Initiative (UHEI) and the Emergency Treatment Fund (ETF) expire on March 31, 2026. The Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee backed the recommendation by city staff to extend existing contracts with frontline agencies for two years during the transition period, but Coun. Susan Stevenson would like to see it changed to a one-year contract plus a one-year extension at council’s discretion. “My concern is the renewal of the contracts for two-years [is] unevaluated,” Stevenson told CTV News. “We [Council] don’t see the contracts. We don’t see the budgets, and we don’t see the outcomes. We don’t even see the problems. There is reporting happening, but it is not coming to council or the public and that has to stop.” Stevenson believes data should be available to council that shows which housing and homelessness programs are working, and if any are not. “How often is EMS, police, and fire there? What are the outcomes for people?” she asked. “We say people are being housed, but is it safe and secure? Is it long lasting? Are people getting better?” However, Coun. Skylar Franke supports the two-year contract renewal with the agencies. “They can find efficiencies by having contracts confirmed for longer than one-year,” Franke explained. “I can see that some members of council would like to see these contracts every single year. I can appreciate they’re trying to do their due diligence, [but] sometimes I find frankly, they use it as an opportunity just to point fingers, cast blame, and cast aspersions.” Stevenson reiterates concerns from neighbours of some problematic apartments she says are part of municipal housing programs. “I’m finding that some of the drug dens in my area are taxpayer funded,” she said. “That is a huge problem that we have to address.” Franke fired back, “Some members of council choose to use inflammatory language because they like to create performative outrage in the community. But I think when you look at the numbers that we have from agencies, by-and-large, most people are doing well in these situations.” In advance of next week’s council meeting, some new data is being provided to politicians about some housing-first programs. A letter from St. Leonard’s Community Services details recent results from its Housing Identification Program that currently houses 351 people. Out of 409 units: “I actually reached out to some corporate landlords, and they said about one per cent of their units are trashed, which is in line with what we see within our public sector,” Franke said. However, Stevenson emphasizes the units where problems exist can create safety concerns for neighbours and disrupt entire buildings. “We’ve got these problematic properties that residents are really bothered. And then to think that it is part of our policies that are permitting this to continue is something that has to be addressed,” she said. London Cares is also sharing new data about the residents of highly supportive housing inside the House of Hope on Dundas Street: “My understanding is the services we’re funding are being incredibly successful,” Franke said about additional data she’s received about House of Hope. “Folks who’ve lived there after 18 months have 90 per cent fewer visits by the police, 83 per cent fewer long-term visits at the hospital, so those are pretty incredible statistics to me.” The expiry of the federal funding programs will reduce the annual budget for Housing Stability Services to $44.1 million. City staff recommend the multi-year procurement evolve the homelessness response system into four interconnected areas. Stevenson will continue to press for more data about successes and problems. “This is a lot of money. We need to have accountability, transparency and measurable outcomes,” she said. Council will consider whether to endorse the HSS procurement framework on Feb. 10.
