Councillor Kelly McCaw said statistics showed that just over 30% of the people Grace Inn sheltered were not from Belleville or Hastings County.
“We should be getting a place for our own people before any other community and some of these people coming here are from across Canada even, so to me it isn’t fair and I think it’s something that needs to be brought out into the open, identified and dealt with.”
McCaw says police statistics show increasing calls for service to deal with homeless people and residents are getting sick and tired of seeing piles of debris, including syringes and needles strewn about the street and dealing with anti-social behaviour.
McCaw said one local business owner had been threatened with a knife as two homeless persons from the GTA were vandalizing property.
However despite McCaw’s assertions others on council did not agree with her position. One of them was Sean Kelly.
“This is happening across the country, it’s not just a Belleville thing. When I hear that 30% of folks that are homeless are coming from outside of Belleville the way I look at that Councillor McCaw is……who cares? WHO CARES?”
Kelly said that most homeless people were not drug addicts or criminals but people who’d had tough luck that threw their lives off-course causing breakdowns. “Most of these people are just lost, even their families have given up on them. They need help. God bless those who work with them every day.”
Councillor Sean Kelly. (Photo: Quinte News)
Councillor Garnet Thompson said he didn’t believe homeless people were being dropped off in Belleville from outside of the area although Mayor Mitch Panciuk later disputed that saying Napanee OPP had brought a man to the city for homeless services last winter. The man froze to death soon after arrival on the vacant former Quinte Hotel site.
Thompson stressed the good works of both the Grace Inn shelter and the Bridge Street United Church drop-in centre saying, “We can’t turn people away just because of where they come from.”
Councillor Chris Malette sided with Thompson and said, “We have a homeless problem because every city in Canada does.”
Councillor Paul Carr said mobile mental health services units should be funded to go directly to the homeless to build a rapport with them and gain their trust.
Councillor Tyler Allsopp said where the homeless came from shouldn’t be a concern because by the very definition of the word, the homeless don’t have an address, adding that 80% of them aren’t drug addicts or mentally ill but are homeless because of the lack of affordable housing.
Councillor Carol Feeney said there was a lot to be learned about effective new support services for the homeless in other communities and suggested staff get in touch with them.
Councillor Bill Sandison said the issue sparked a lot of passion but that there was no easy solution. “We’re already doing a lot to help but maybe we can do more. Grace Inn is a success and maybe we can build on it.”
Mayor Panciuk said Belleville was a “caring and helpful community.” However, he said social service agencies were simply being overwhelmed by the increasing numbers of homeless, not only in Belleville but just about everywhere.
“Everyone living in the city is talking, or has talked about this issue. It’s serious and has been getting worse. We’ve seen an increase in the number of assaults on our police officers and more complaints from businesses. City staff have had to clean up 58 illegal camps in the past year.”
Panciuk added he was looking forward to more and better services from Hastings County at the city’s warming centre this winter stressing that “we care and we’re trying to help as best we can.”
The mayor said that homelessness and mental health issues were a provincial government responsibility and not a municipal one.
Council is awaiting a report from the Bridge Street United Church drop-in centre at a future meeting.
