Social services advocates calling for provincial Justice Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Social services advocates in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., are voicing their concerns over the number of people who are released from jail and going straight into homelessness.

The issue has prompted groups like the local John Howard Society and the Sault’s Social Services administration board to ask the province to open a Justice Centre in the city.

The centres were developed by the province to address the root causes of crime by offering integrated supports for people being released from custody and for those with pending cases in the court system who have nowhere to go. Supports can include housing, addictions, mental health, education, and employment services alongside the traditional justice system.

Similar centres, often run by Indigenous-led organizations, have already been operating for several years in places like Kenora, Ont.  

Mike Nadeau, the CEO of the Sault’s Social Services administration board, said a centre like the one in Kenora could work well for citizens in his city.

"We know that there's many people [in the Sault] who are homeless that reside in jails or that are justice-involved," he said. "So, how do we actually start to put a bit of a system around people to make sure they're not just released and showing up at the shelter and that there's a bit more of a discharged planning process."

In fact, Nadeau said the ministry has been looking at the Sault as a potential site for a Justice Centre pilot over the last several months. 

Conversations on the subject with ministry officials at last week’s Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference were positive, he said. However, a feasibility study and needs analysis still has to be done in order to move the process along, there is currently no timeline for when those will be completed. 

“Each Justice Centre operates differently, which is why we’re asking for [these studies] to be completed,” Nadeau said. “We know we need change, we know we need a different approach here locally, but we don’t want to predispose what that model would be without a proper analysis.” 

At the last official check, there were 461 people who were homeless in the Sault, with 99 of them in the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre.

Jackie Martin, executive director of the John Howard Society of Sault Ste. Marie and District, is concerned about those numbers. 

“The numbers are pretty high from those who are being released from the institutions straight into shelter, and then when shelter beds are full, it’s straight to encampment areas,” she said.

“I do see a really good wraparound approach if we can get the Justice Centre moving forward. We have great collaborations amongst our social service teams, as well as our court teams already, which will focus on justice, health, financial, and addictions aspects to that.”

Considering the Sault is on pace for more snowfall this winter than in decades past, on top of freezing temperatures, Martin said finding strategies to get more people off the streets is urgent.