On a recent after-school visit to Chippewa Street West to learn more about the school board’s installation of noise-emitting anti-loitering devices at the high school, a few minutes after arriving BayToday encountered several instances of social disorder, all of which were exhibited to Chippewa students and their families as they left the property at dusk through the north parking lot after practices for athletic teams and other after-school programs.

Waiting for the low-barrier shelter to open for the evening, customers descended on the Northern Pines property. Some came from the footbridge, others from the direction of the center via Cassells Street, while some simply appeared out of nowhere as if waiting in nearby bushes. Most were mumbling or talking to themselves. Some were screaming. They were all making their way along the road as if they had been squashed between the fences of Northern Pines and Chippewa.

A man got into an argument with a woman, threw a scooter as far as he could on school property, retrieved it and stormed off as the two security guards employed by Northern Pines warned him against further outbursts on pain of losing his the place in the shelter. night. Security guards chased the man down Chippewa West (see photo above), while another security guard employed by the Near North District School Board watched over school property as low-barrier shelter clients were either admitted , or decline.

See the connection: Chippewa Warming Center operators vow to ‘mitigate problems’

For those keeping score, this short stretch of Chippewa Street West is fenced off to the north, $611,000 worth of fencing now surrounds the high school, the board has installed anti-loitering devices and security cameras at the school, and three people guard Northern Pines. and school property for at least part of the day. There’s no denying that these community members need help, but it’s safe to say that the transient traffic between sleeping places and needed services has been a problem for the neighborhood for some time.

PODCAST: The King on the Homeless Center, the Warming Center and the Chippewa

Nipissing County Board of Social Services President Mark King describes ongoing issues with the operation of the low-barrier shelter in Northern Pines, the proximity of several schools and care providers — particularly Chippewa Middle and High School , directly across the street from the shelter – interactions in nearby senior facilities and neighboring community members are “complicated”.

Once a staunch supporter of the Chippewa West shelter operation, King relented and adjusted his position. He now guarantees that any new hub providing services to the homeless community “will not come near the school”.

See also: DNSSAB acknowledges “no perfect location” for the 24/7 hub

The DNSSAB Board recently spoke publicly about its Combined Services Partner application to become one of the top 10 Homelessness and Addictions Recovery (HART) Hubs in Ontario. This is a funding stream made available by the provincial government for projects such as the 24/7 permanent shelter and housing center discussed over the past six months. The application is complete and has been submitted.

Designation as a HART Hub would fund a permanent space that would provide housing support as well as connections to other needed health and social services and include overnight shelter services. DNSSAB hired a real estate agent months ago to look for potential sites to meet the needs of the proposed hub, which include a minimum of 4,000 square feet of space within walking distance of downtown North Bay, where other social services are located, or easily accessible to other services.

Conformable Ontario Ministry of Health HART Hubs documents“The intention is for the hubs to be operational by winter 2025 and for each hub to be able to provide barrier-free access to a range of locally identified services that best meet the complex needs of people experiencing a range of overlapping issues and marginalization, including substance use issues;

This operational timeline might prove a bit difficult, but a discussion of the HART Hub app took place during the DNSSAB Board meeting on Wednesday 23 October. King, in his opening remarks to the meeting, welcomed DNSSAB staff as well as those from Canada. Medical Health Association North Bay and District, North Bay & District Chamber of Commerce and Crisis Center North Bay for their efforts.

“There was only a little time to work on the app, but the results are good,” King told DNSSAB CAO Melanie Shaye.

See: ‘The time for action is now:’ Homeless camp motion passes
And: Homeless camp motion calls for “urgent” government action

Later in her report to council, Shaye added: “I would like to thank the entire housing team for their work on the application, as well as the senior staff at CMHA and Crisis Center North Bay. I think it exemplifies a community. spirit of really wanting to promote this subject. We have been very pleased with the number of letters of support and look forward to and appreciate MPP’s interest in the application, so keep your fingers crossed.”

See: Ford government to close 10 supervised consumption sites, ban new ones in favor of ‘hub’ model.
And: SCS facilities to close confirm plans to apply for HART hubs as deadline

The hub concept remains essentially the same as what was discussed at a special DNSSAB Board meeting in late July. King promised that there would then be consultation with various stakeholders and the wider community before any hub was established.

See also: A new homeless center near downtown North Bay?

“We went to the community,” says King, “with that special meeting to listen to everybody, to see what their response was, and part of the problem was the original housing proposal, which suggested one or two streets of the city center. Well, it became apparent that this was not what the community wanted. I would suggest that at this point, subject to property availability, it will be out of core, and that’s what we’re working towards.

And: Will public consultation quiet the ‘homeless hub’?

King says DNSSAB has been looking at ways to fund a new hub on its own.

“It’s complicated. We have so much pressure on us because of the low barrier shelter and transitional housing at Northern Pines. There is a movement to get rid of the low barrier shelter at that location. So the thought process was that we would move the low barrier shelter to a center somewhere away from the school. And then the province recognized that there would probably be value in funding these centers as long as they accepted the community from the partners.

“So this provincial funding arrangement went to all kinds of communities. In Timmins, for example, they are working on theirs right now. They bought a hotelbelieve it or not So, I mean, our process is that we’re in line. We hope we’re successful because that would provide the money to move forward with that process, number one, moving the low-barrier shelter, putting it in another location where there’s full services away from the school. “

If the funding isn’t approved, King isn’t sure what will happen to the North Bay hub project. “It really depends on the potential funding. But if it doesn’t happen and the funding doesn’t come through, I’m sure the request will go back to DNSSAB to see if we can find the money to support it. And, we don’t know if that’s a viable situation, that has yet to be determined because we don’t know what the actual cost will be.”

Following the special meeting in July, a statement from the DNSSAB acknowledged that “there is no perfect location” for a hub and “locations that are not considered ideal are areas directly adjacent to primary schools, splash pad areas, children’s pools, childcare centers of authorized children or in a residential district. interior.”

Asked if he could share any potential locations for the potential hub, King declined for fear of interfering with negotiations.

As the DNSSAB stated in July, “None of the sites currently being investigated can be shared as this may affect negotiations for any property under consideration, however communication with neighbors and the community will take place when the council reaches a decision and they are able to provide more information’.