Things to think about if Kincardine wants to get into supportive housing business, says writer

To the Editor:
RE: “Petition calls for community vote on location of affordable housing proposal in Kincardine”

In theory, affordable, supportive housing sounds fantastic.

Supportive housing is designed so that people can live successfully and live safely, whether this be living independently or having full support. The supports should address mental and physical health, substance abuse, education, employment skills and general life skills.

This might include help with making a budget, saving money, learning how to grocery shop and cook, having meals prepared for them, keeping an apartment clean, reminders to take medication and to attend medical appointments, anger management skills, and support to develop healthy relationships.

Supportive housing is not regulated. There are no standards or inspections. There are some really good supportive housing providers, but they seem to be few and far between. Unfortunately, some supportive housing providers say they provide supports, but the only support they seem to provide is affordable housing.

In the last year-and-a-half, I have done quite a bit of research on supportive housing, including questioning more than 70 tenants from 11 different supportive housing buildings, in five different cities in Ontario. The respondents say that most of the other tenants are great. It is the small percentage of drug addicts that cause living nightmares for the rest of the building.

The level of violence they reported is horrific. Tenants complained about being verbally and physically assaulted. One lady, in her 70s, said that every time she leaves her apartment, another neighbour is yelling obscenities at her. Another lady said she is terrified when someone bangs on her door in the middle of the night demanding drugs. Many tenants reported seeing open drug deals in the hallway. Tenants also complained about finding feces in the common areas, including the elevator, stairwells and laundry room.

Some tenants also complained about never even having a discussion with the organization as to what supports they need.

If Kincardine wants to get into the supportive housing business, here are some things to think about:
 

• How much due diligence have you done into this organization?
• How often are police called to their buildings? What are the main reasons for the calls?
• Will you make it mandatory that the organization submit Serious Incident Reports to council on a regular basis? Will this include strategies to try to prevent similar serious incidents?
• What specific supports will be provided?
• Who is the building going to serve?
• Will prospective tenants with a history of violent behaviour and/or drug addicts be screened out?
• Will illegal drugs be allowed on the premises?
• Have you taken a tour of any of their other buildings?
• Do tenants say that they feel safe living there?

Karen Allin
Mississauga