Defunding homeless outreach a deadly decision by St. Catharines council 

I remember being about 7-years-old, and a Brownie with the Girl Guides of Canada. We were taking a trip to the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. I can tell you the only part of this trip that I can remember is seeing a homeless man, sleeping over top of a grate on the sidewalk, in a sleeping bag. I remember feeling confused, not being able to comprehend how someone could be sleeping outside on a sidewalk. 

My whole being knew this was not right. I wanted to help this man, but was told not to approach him. I believe this day was to foreshadow what my adult life would consist of, advocating for our unhoused and helping others

I was born and raised in the city of St. Catharines. My mother was born in Meriton in 1944. My son was born and raised here, and now my son is raising his three children here. St. Catharines is home. 

My home has changed a lot over the last 47 years. There are some days it's unrecognizable. The same feeling I had as a 7-year-old—sad, confused—is often what I feel daily. Throughout the last ten years there has been an incredible increase of unhoused people in my city, and to add fuel to the fire, the response of our City, regional and provincial government has made me think they don’t care about what is happening to their most vulnerable members. Human life has been reduced to dollars and cents, not how we can help these people.

In December 2021 I was slated to speak to the regional council of Niagara to have a State of Emergency declared on homelessness, addiction, and mental health. That night, council voted that the delegates were not permitted to speak since this topic had been discussed previously. What they actually were saying is, ‘We don’t care, we don’t want to know what you think or your suggestions on what can help.’ 

This fueled my fire to make change. 

In 2022 I ran for regional council in our municipal elections so I could have a seat at the table and provide lived experience and help make decisions and policies that were realistic to the situation at hand. I did not win, but that didn’t stop me. Fifteen months later in March 2023, I delegated to regional council on the same issue, to have an emergency declared. That night council voted in favour, but not before members suggested that this was a meaningless motion and looked good only on paper, merely symbolic of what should be done. Regional councillor Laura Ip went as far to put a motion on the floor to have the emergency declaration overturned as it wouldn’t get the region any more funding. It was voted down.

A year later, all the Ontario Big City Mayors gathered together for the Solve the Crisis campaign, which aims to pressure the provincial government into recognizing that the cities are dealing with a homelessness crisis and they need money in order to combat it. With over 1,100 people currently unhoused in Niagara, and over 160 people living on the street and in encampments, they can't ignore the crisis any longer. 

I was hopeful that the City would begin to make changes, such as stopping the clearing of encampments until viable supports for individuals are provided, and only if they are treated lawfully with dignity and respect. They need safe spaces. I was wrong again and my hope quickly faded into concern that our community members are going to continue to die on our streets and our city officials were willing to let this happen.

On September 9th, the City of St. Catharines made a terrible decision to defund NASO (Niagara Assertive Street Outreach) and instead voted to move the budgeted $328,000 to continue to clear encampments. Instead of a safe, staff-supported approach to encampments, or help to invest in resources and services, the painful experience of having your only home, your only worldly possessions ripped down and taken from you, was the way forward for council. And now without NASO, these unhoused people have no support on the ground when this happens.

I was flabbergasted at this decision. How can the Mayor of St. Catharines say in one breath we are in a crisis then vote to defund critical outreach work and sweep into encampments? 

History has shown over the last five years that when you take down one tent, one encampment, they will rise again, this time farther away from help, in a more dangerous area for fear of being removed again. Farther away from healthcare services, farther away from the services and resources people access daily for their basic needs. Our city just took our hard earned taxpayer dollars and threw it out the window. The clear messaging of the City is we don’t care what happens to our most vulnerable, it's not our problem...not in our backyard. City Council members are quick to point to the Region and say, 'It’s their responsibility to handle homelessness, not ours'. The lack of compassion among those elected to protect our community is alarming. 

How can we expect individuals experiencing homelessness to pick up their garbage, respect property when our local governments continue to send the clear message that unhoused people are not welcomed here in our city? City Hall is sending a message tainted in dangerous stereotypes, that unhoused people are drug addicts committing violent crimes and destroying the facade of our compassionate city.   

As an advocate, I spend hours a week connecting and offering immediate help such as tents, blankets and food. I can assure you, our unhoused think the government does not care. Our unhoused have no hope they will be able to access assistance and supportive living conditions.

Homelessness is not just a St. Catharines crisis but a crisis across our province and much of the country, created by years of systemic neglect by elected officials removed from reality. The continual cutbacks to Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program, a lack of investing in affordable housing and funding for mental health and addiction have created the situation our homeless are living in every single day. Our governments need to stop shaming the unhoused and pointing fingers at everyone else to fix the problems that they have had a hand in creating.

I have been told, you can only judge a city by the way it treats its most vulnerable. Many of us are a paycheck or two from being homeless. If you suddenly find yourself without a job or get an unexpected medical diagnosis, or suffer a mental health setback, a loss of a family member or are forced to deal with any of the other infinite challenges that push people into crisis, would you trust our local government to help you?

Alicia Marshall has worked in the mental health and addictions sector. She is a founding member of Niagara Advocates with Lived/Living Experience (NALE).