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Council votes to end sleeping cabin program for Kingston's homeless | CBC News
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Ottawa
COUNCIL VOTES TO END SLEEPING CABIN PROGRAM FOR KINGSTON'S HOMELESS
City councillors in Kingston, Ont., voted Tuesday night to wind down a pilot
project that housed people in small cabins, but not before the winter.
CABIN RESIDENT SAYS THEY'RE JUST LOOKING FOR 'A SAFE PLACE TO HAVE A HOME'
Dan Taekema · CBC News · Posted: Nov 08, 2023 12:05 PM PST | Last Updated:
November 9, 2023
Marsha Wiggins stands among 17 sleeping cabins at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour in
Kingston, Ont. She and other residents taking part in the program, which
provides them with tiny shelters, wonder about their future after city council
voted to wind it down. (Dan Taekema/CBC)
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Marsha Wiggins calls her tiny cabin more than a roof over her head. It provides
a sense of community and is warmer than the woods where she used to camp. It
also offers something she treasures — access to a shower.
"I hate being sticky or dirty and grubby," she explained, standing among the 17
tiny shelters at Kingston's Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.
"It's nice being clean."
On Tuesday night, city councillors in Kingston, Ont., voted to wind down the
pilot project and prepare to move those staying in the cabins to different forms
of housing. Staff are supposed to come back to council with a plan by the end of
March.
Wiggins spoke during the meeting, urging elected officials to find a permanent
home for the site. Instead they decided to end it altogether.
Now she worries there aren't other housing options.
"Why couldn't they get us anything before [this pilot project]?" Wiggins said,
adding she left city hall discouraged.
* Staff help rescue residents as fire destroys Kingston sleeping cabin
* Sleeping cabins for Kingston's homeless fall short, critics say
The project started in January 2022 with an initial investment of $407,000 from
the city, followed by two other contributions of $250,000 and $394,000,
according to a staff report tabled at council.
At the time, it was touted as an innovative solution for chronic homelessness.
The city further committed to provide $336,000 in operational funding each year,
starting in 2023.
Since the project began, the cabins were regularly relocated between the
Portsmouth Olympic Harbour and the Centre 70 arena, roughly five kilometres
away, in order to avoid seasonal activities at both sites.
COUNCILLOR CALLS CABINS A SHED
Council considered four options Tuesday, two of which were long-term locations
for the project — one at a public park and the other at the site of a former
commercial arena.
The two other options were to continue the annual migration, which residents and
advocates said is disruptive to cabin residents, or wind it down altogether.
The sleeping cabin program started in January 2022 and has grown to include 17
structures. It was regularly moved between Portsmouth Olympic Harbour and the
Centre 70 arena based on seasonal activities at both sites. (Dan Taekema/CBC)
Coun. Ryan Boehme suggested ending the program.
"We have two untenable sites for a program that is essentially advocating
putting people in a shed," said Boehme, who represents the Pittsburgh district.
"We would not condone this type of living for a dog during the winter. In fact,
you would get a visit from the humane society and you would lose your animal if
you housed them like this."
Boehme said moving the "sheds" to either of the proposed sites was
"irresponsible" and would put both residents and emergency crews at greater
risk.
He and other councillors also raised concerns about access to green space, fire
risks and accessibility at the proposed long-term locations, while arguing the
money spent on the cabins could be better-used.
"The cost versus benefit analysis is clear here," Boehme said. "These resources
and dollars can be better spent funding true transitional housing for people."
Ten council members voted to wind down the program, with two councillors
dissenting.
Brandon Tozzo from Kingscourt-Rideau said none of the options struck him as the
"most humane," pointing out the cabins did represent a housing solution for
some.
"This is … incredibly challenging because these are people who have a roof over
their head," he said.
Accessibility devices, including this walker, could be seen parked outside
several of the sleeping cabins on Nov. 8, 2023. (Dan Taekema/CBC)
Loyalist-Cataraqui's Paul Chaves said he believed the program should end, while
he was also skeptical that acceptable housing could be found for all 17
residents.
"Are they going to just be kicked out or become homeless?" he said.
Chaves said city staff told him eight housing agencies responded to a survey,
two of which had more than 50 people on their wait list and four had between
zero and 25.
"Currently there are only five agency vacancies," he said. "None are
accessible."
RETURN TO HOMELESSNESS ISN'T CITY'S PLAN
Ruth Noordegraaf, Kingston's director of housing and social services, said staff
will work with service providers to come up with options, which could
include moving the cabins back to Centre 70 if more time is needed.
"The intent from staff is that we are not displacing people back into
homelessness," she said.
Thirty-five people have participated in the cabin pilot since it began,
according to the city report.
Of those, three have moved into supportive housing, one into transitional
housing, two into a stabilization program operated by Addictions and Mental
Health Services, and one person moved into housing they found on their own, it
states.
Over that time, two residents also died in their cabins of underlying health
conditions, one person ended up in a detention centre and four left voluntarily
to return to homelessness, the report said.
Chrystal Wilson, executive director of the group that runs the program, Our
Livable Solutions, fired back at council concerns about those figures.
"To say we've got three people housed, that's a success. We've kept 17 people
stable? That's also a success," she said during the meeting. "You shouldn't be
looking for high numbers. We're transition housing."
Chrystal Wilson is the executive director of Our Livable Solutions, which runs
the sleeping cabin program. She says council's decision to end it left her very
disappointed. (Dan Taekema/CBC)
On Wednesday she described the outcome as "extremely disappointing."
Wiggins said if the city can't help her find housing, it's "back to the woods."
She worried about seniors and those with accessibility needs who live in the
cabins, two of whom had walkers parked out front.
"We're just wanting the same thing you guys want," Wiggins said. "A safe place
to have a home."
All in a Day10:23People who've been using sleeping cabins at Kingston's
Portsmouth Olympic Harbour will have to find somewhere else to go next year
The city has voted to wind down the program
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Taekema
Reporter
Dan Taekema is CBC’s reporter covering Kingston, Ont. and the surrounding area.
He’s worked in newsrooms in Chatham, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa. You
can reach him by emailing daniel.taekema@cbc.ca.
* Follow @DanTaekema on Twitter
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News
Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|Report error
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