Thunder Bay, Ont., gets funding boost to address homelessness amid shift to human rights-based approach

As the City of Thunder Bay takes a new approach to addressing homelessness, service providers are getting more money to support efforts on the ground.

The Ontario government announced on Friday that the Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB) will receive an additional $11 million in funding, an increase of nearly 200 per cent, amounting to $16.5 million annually for the next three years.

The extra cash comes through additions to Ontario's Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.

Bill Bradica, the board's chief administrative officer, said staff have been advocating for more resources for years, sharing data with upper levels of government on the city's high rates of overdoses and mental health challenges, and how these have contributed to the number of people experiencing homelessness.

"If we're going to ever get out of this situation of chronic homelessness, there needs to be more spaces for people," Bradica told CBC News. "Specifically, we need more transitional spaces and supportive housing spaces for people."

The board plans to spend about $9 million to work with partners to build transitional housing in the first year of the three-year funding boost, said Bradica. The remaining dollars will be spent on services including emergency shelters and outreach.

"A funding increase of this magnitude represents an opportunity to help more people access appropriate housing. It also confirms that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has been listening to the advocacy of our board and other service managers regarding the need to rethink funding allocations based on local need," said Ken Boshcoff, the board's chair and Thunder Bay's mayor, in a news release issued Friday.

The board has put out an expression of interest and is awaiting responses from partners.

"The work of our local DSSAB office has been instrumental in securing this funding and implementing it to address the unique issues and approaches needed in northwestern Ontario," said Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland in Friday's news release.

"The funding allocation is a testament to their dedication and hard work, and I am confident that with their continued efforts with our government, we will make tremendous strides in tackling homelessness in Thunder Bay-Atikokan."

DSSAB supports about 4,400 housing units, 2,500 of which it directly owns and operates. Of the remaining units, 900  are operated by non-profit housing corporations that receive funding from the board and 1,000 take the form of rent supplement programs or portable housing benefits, Bradica explained.

There are a few new housing projects under construction in the city, including:

But more housing stock is still needed. There are about 1,200 people on the wait list for rent-geared-to-income housing in Thunder Bay as of this March, said Bradica. The numbers fluctuated over the pandemic, decreasing when fewer people were applying and now increasing from more than 900 since the end of 2021.

There is also a second list, called the by-name list, a registry of people who identify as homeless or in a precarious situation and are accessing social services. About 750 names are on that list so far.