Terry Richardson, the mayor of Greater Napanee, spoke to Quinte News about the growing homelessness epidemic in the town.
Last week at council, members received an update on the operational and financial strain the issue is taking on the community.
Richardson says downtown Napanee is at the centre of the problem for all of Lennox and Addington County.
He says the municipality isn’t receiving any financial support from the province or feds.
“It’s residual costs that we’re starting to see, are starting to add up, the cleanup of the parks, policing costs to deal with some of the homelessness issue, the fire calls. You know, it touches pretty much every aspect of our municipality.”
“It’s not that people just don’t have places to live, but it’s complicated by drug abuse, it’s complicated by financial issues, it’s complicated by mental health issues, right?”
FROM THE REPORT – When asked to account for service impacts, staff from Bylaw Services, the Fire Department, Utilities, Parks, and Planning and Development Services provided the following input regarding the impact of housing and homelessness on their operations.
A link to the staff report can be seen by CLICKING HERE
