Ward 2 Update

Dayna, North End Resident and Reader

“I look forward to the always-prompt delivery of the next edition to my mailbox, and to receiving the email alerting me to its availability! I so appreciate that there remains a local community paper at a time when so many others have ceased publication. It’s been a great introduction to the North End!”

Kristina Santone

“Being a part of the North End Breezes board for the past two years has been a privilege. The team does amazing work within the community and serves as a resource hub for all. They are committed, and most importantly, passionate about preserving the North End’s legacy, while also continuing to foster its growth. Whether you are new to the area, or a longtime resident, I encourage you to volunteer with the Breezes in some capacity if you’re able. This team is small but mighty and they are always looking for more support. I’m grateful for the relationships and community I’ve been able to build while serving on the board.

I’ll be joining Welcome Inn as the Executive Director and look forward to taking on a new role in the North End Community while staying connected to The Breezes. “

By Councillor Cameron Kroetsch

As the weather begins to change, I hope everyone in the North End was able to get out to some of the community events happening over the summer and to spend time with friends and family.

I know that it’s been a difficult summer for housed and unhoused residents in the North End and some have reached out to me directly to ask more about what the City is doing to help manage our current homelessness and affordable housing crises.

If you were able to tune in to the General Issues Committee on September 18, or read the newsletter I wrote the day before, you’ll know City staff have recommended some major changes to the way we support our unhoused neighbours. Those changes were approved by the General Issues Committee and City Council, including –

(1) Phasing in the creation of 192 new permanent shelter beds – at a cost of around $7.4m per year (28% of the beds will be in Ward 2, and 78% in Ward 3)

(2) Building an outdoor temporary shelter or sanctioned site with 80 beds on the Barton-Tiffany lands – at a cost of around $4m per year

(3) Hiring 7 full time City staff to support this work – at a cost of around $800k per year

These new indoor and outdoor shelter beds will help the City meet current gaps in existing shelters for women, gender diverse folks, couples, and people with pets (especially those who have a pet to help them manage a disability). This has been a huge barrier up to now and the goal of the outdoor shelter space is for it to be as low barrier as possible. The City has said it will be partnering with Good Shepherd to run the outdoor shelter and will share further details through monthly reports to Council.

As part of these plans, the City recommended a 1km radius around the Barton-Tiffany lands be exempt from encampments on public land. This exemption includes Bayfront Park, Central Park, and Pier 4 Park so as not to create a concentration of shelter beds and encampment spaces in a single area.

I voted in favour of all of City staff’s recommendations and, while I have some concerns, staff confirmed during the meeting that the City will ensure there is an exit plan for this outdoor temporary shelter so it remains temporary in nature, will continue to support those in our community for whom there will not be room either indoors or outdoors, and will protect outdoor shelter residents from any contamination at the Barton-Tiffany site by making sure anything done to establish the site does not disturb the soil.

Hamilton still does not have enough indoor or outdoor shelter spaces for everyone who has been deprived of housing, though we’re getting much closer to achieving that goal. This is a big part of that. Once the City has achieved that goal, it will not be as reliant on the current Encampment Protocol.

As I’m sure you can imagine, especially as we approach the winter months, there will be many in our communities who will be moving around and making decisions about where to shelter given these new changes. This will be a significant disruption for them, and a difficult time, so let’s do everything we can to give them space and offer support where and when we can.

For those who have missed it in the last issue of the Breezes, we are collecting information about the future of Eastwood Arena and Strachan Linear Park through two online surveys.

To provide comments on Eastwood Arena and how it might be used going forward, please visit ward2hamilton.ca/EastwoodArena. To provide the Ward 2 Team with your suggestions and ideas for how we might program the future Strachan Linear Park visit ward2hamilton.ca/StrachanLinearPark. The surveys will close on October 15, so please make sure your input is received by then.

If you’d like to reach out to us for help with something, please email Ward2@hamilton.ca for the quickest response or call us at (905) 546-2197. If you would like to reach me directly, send me an email at Cameron.Kroetsch@hamilton.ca. If you would like to sign up to read my newsletter, you can do so by visiting ward2hamilton.substack.com.