KENORA — Improving access to housing for people with more complex needs is an ongoing priority for the Kenora District Services Board, its acting CEO says.
“Constantly,” Sarah Stevenson said of the KDSB developing plans for more supportive housing in Kenora. “It is a primary focus of our work.”
Stevenson said the Kenora District Services Board works with a number of partners, including Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, other housing corporations and chiefs councils.
“There’s a big — as there should be — a big focus on the development of housing and supportive housing,” she said.
Anti-poverty advocates in Kenora have pointed to an ongoing need for various types of housing that can accommodate people dealing with things like addictions or other mental health issues — facilities like transitional housing and residential facilities that prioritize harm reduction.
“We are currently working on the development of additional supportive housing programs in partnership with multiple health partners — health services providers in the city of Kenora,” Stevenson said.
“KDSB is one partner in this work, and we want to ensure that we are ready for any funding opportunities that come available and that we have projects that are ready that we can apply for in partnership with those organizations.”
The services board’s 2024 report on the point-in-time counts conducted that year in nine communities throughout the Kenora district said homelessness in the region “has become a progressively complex issue.”
“Many people experiencing homelessness at some point in their lives do not make use of conventional facilities, such as emergency or transitional shelters, making it difficult to plan for appropriate services and supports accurately,” the report said.
“Complex needs might be developmental or intellectual needs, it might mean addictions, it might mean mental health supports, it might mean somebody who is involved with the justice system,” Stevenson said.
“In situations where people have complex needs, supports are needed in order to ensure that the person is able to live independently or semi-independently and maintain tenancy.”
Stevenson added that, because many cases present differently, there isn’t a single formula that can be applied, but said the KDSB works with a variety of organizations in partnership to “ensure that people are supported in those tenancies.”
Throughout the district, overall, the waiting list for housing has increased by over 350 per cent since 2011, the report added.
Two projects that are in development, Stevenson said, include the Home of My Own building — a six-unit supportive housing project in partnership with the Kenora Association for Community Living, and another development being done with Anishinaabe Abinoojii Family Services.
“Those ones are in process and coming online,” Stevenson said. “But we’re constantly working with the city and service partners to determine additional projects as well.”
