- by Hub staff

“Residents say the most important issue facing Owen Sound today is related to housing, cost of living and homelessness”, according to the report on the Citizen Satisfaction Survey the City released today.

Ironically, this was also the day a tent encampment on the Pottawatami River was removed by five men with a backhoe.  According to someone on the scene, all the belongings at the site were shovelled into the dumpster.  Owen Sound By-Law had given the property owners - Great Lake Elevators- notice that the property must be cleaned up or the owners would be fined.  Reportedly, Owen Sound Police had attended for wellness checks several times, and By-Law 5 to 7 times, but no contact was made with a resident. The encampment was apparently vacant since the resident left as long as three weeks ago. 

Tents, tarps and belongings have been on multiple other sites in the City – in parks , by the harbour and behind City-owned buildings. Trees were removed between the Best Western and the Health Unit and north of the dog park, ostensibly to discourage such encampments.

Last night a person was sleeping in an alcove outside a storefront on 2nd Avenue, and wire mesh was put across the alcove at the former Legate's store  last winter after a man was found sleeping there. The store, across from City Hall, has been vacant since being purchased by a Markham firm in 2018.

In an interview for the Grey-Bruce Sustainability Network, United Way's Food Security Co-ordinator, Paul Wagenaar said that the rising demand for food supports -  a three-fold increase in demand to 60,000 meals at OSHaRE this year alone - was primarily due to people spending 80, 90 or as much as 100% of their income on housing.

The huge jump in housing prices in Grey-Bruce, and the influx of buyers from out of town who are being encouraged to invest in residential properties here, are contributing to our rental housing crisis. Even before the pandemic, Anne Marie Shaw, Director of Housing for Grey County referred to it as “the perfect storm” of heavy demand, low housing supply, and high rents.

While housing is not a mandated municipal responsibility, the response in the Citizen Satisfaction Survey indicates that Owen Sound residents are strongly identifying homelessness as an issue that impacts them.

Existing services and strategies may not adequately meet the needs of everyone who finds themselves homeless. A witness to today's removal reported they were very shaken by the angry reception they received from those doing the destruction of the encampment.  "Those who want to help want to know what resources we can use to build the kind of supports we need in Owen Sound."

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