Sioux Lookout Mayor Doug Lawrance is looking for help in dealing with a social housing crisis in his community.

“Between the emergency shelter and rent-geared-to-income social housing, there are no real options for people,” Lawrance says. “There is no transitional housing, no supportive housing, no managed alcohol facility.

“We need housing which is designed and programmed to consider these situations,” he said. “Housing is needed for mobility challenged people, for cognitively challenged, for other special needs individuals and families. Beyond those needs we have need for student and family accommodations for those attending school, housing for foster children, housing for seniors.”

In addition, he said, many people come to Sioux Lookout for medical care and need to stay for periods of weeks, months, and years.

The hostel, associated with the hospital, has a capacity of 100 beds and was intended for only short stays of a few days, Lawrance said, noting that the hostel is consistently at over-capacity by 20 - 50 per cent, and local hotels are used as the backstop.

As for long-term care needs, Lawrance said, the town has only 20 long-term care beds for the Sioux Lookout Integrated District Network of the Northwest LHIN.

That’s 20 beds for a population of more than 30,000, when the provincial average is seven per thousand. As well as being inappropriately sent to long-term care in Thunder Bay, Kenora, and Fort Frances, seniors are accommodated in acute care beds, he said.

In addition, Lawrance said the lack of housing even extends to the private sector.

“We are also a centre for employment. In the market rent sector and purchase sector we need housing for many who come to Sioux Lookout to work, he said.

Lawrance noted that people are coming to council asking for more social housing.

“Individuals, agencies, employers, bring the concern of lack of housing forward to council on an ongoing basis. An area chief contacted me directly in mid-December asking if we could help find housing for an individual who could no longer be serviced by the emergency shelter because of his physical condition.

“After contacting the emergency shelter, the local health centre (responsible for long-term care), and the district services board (responsible for social housing), I was forced to let the chief know there was nothing we could do,” Lawrance said, adding that “the need for housing is a growing problem as the population both in our community and area First Nation communities continues to grow and there is a significant backlog of investment in the types of housing needed.”

As for what needs to happen, the Sioux Lookout mayor said that there needs to be a significant investment in the various types of housing, services, and programs required.

“It is not news that provision of these services can pay for itself through reduced costs in health care — long-term care beds versus acute care beds, emergency room visits, acute care costs, policing, justice system, social and personal costs, and more. But,” he said, “the investment should be done with co-ordination across agencies and across jurisdictions.”

In terms of seniors housing, he said that the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre is working on development of a 96-bed long-term care facility to be built adjacent to the 60-bed hospital which opened in 2010.

“It is my understanding that the Northwest LHIN recommended the 96-bed facility to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care approximately 15 months ago.

“(To date) we have heard nothing from the ministry,” he said.

In the meantime, the Sioux Lookout mayor and council continues to work with the Kenora District Services Board, and to press provincial ministries for solutions to the town’s housing crisis.

Until a suitable solution is found, Lawrance said “we are acting as a facilitator, bringing various groups together to try and solve particular (housing) sector needs (as they arise).”

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