For Immediate Release

July 23, 2019

Therrien and Monsef announce 10-point plan for

a Rapid Response to Homelessness and
Housing

As a result of today’s meeting at the Mount Community Centre, a 10-Point Plan for a Rapid
Response to Homelessness and Housing has been established. The plan consists of the
following:

1. Immediately implement recommendations arising from the Rapid Response to Homelessness

and Housing Meeting on July 23 to provide more supports and services to encourage those
living rough to move indoors.

2. Mayor will strike a Rapid Shelter Task Force to determine a Plan A and Plan B for more
permanent, low-barrier shelter for the most vulnerable in our community, with a report due to
Council in 60 days.

3. Willing government partners will help the Task Force by providing staff to form a Secretariat.

4. Willing government partners will help the Task Force by suggesting community experts to
form the membership of the Task Force.

5. The voices of those living rough in our community, as well as community experts and
advocates, will be heard through the development of the Task Force report and the future
creation of low-barrier shelter through multiple avenues, including representation on the Task
Force and consultations.

6. City of Peterborough will continue to develop its Official Plan to ensure that creative solutions
for housing are available to the community, such as allowing for tiny homes through zoning and
by-law amendments, and will look to create an inventory of land that could be made available
for affordable housing development.

7. Willing government partners will continue to work together to support a community response
to the opioid crisis and mental health needs, including by supporting a Consumption and
Treatment Site.

8. A public summit will be held on August 13 to ensure the community can help inform the path
forward.

9. Willing government partners will work with community and service providers, as well as willing
local developers, over the next 60 days to create new applications to the National Housing
Strategy that meet the housing needs of the City and County of Peterborough and that move to
build 2,000 units over the next two years.
10. Regular information updates about progress on this plan will be delivered to internal
partners and to the community at large.

In the short term, we will continue actively working with the County of Peterborough to identify
immediate solutions. The Peterborough Public Library is providing a temporary space for
emergency shelter from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. each day. Staff from the Brock Mission and City of
Peterborough Social Services are stationed at the Library to help connect people with more
permanent housing and shelter, as well as critical support services, and the Library continues to
function as usual during the day. As well, 15 additional beds have also been opened at the YES
Shelter, which are being made available to people of any age who are in need.

The City has been vigorous in its on-going efforts to find a low-barrier shelter location for some
of Peterborough's most vulnerable citizens. City outreach workers have been visiting locations
where people are camping to reach out and help connect them with available services and
shelter, and the Peterborough Police Service and first responders deserve to be commended for
their work ensuring the public safety.

Construction of the new Brock Mission is imminent, more single mothers and their children are
being housed through YWCA’s Homeward Bound program, and another 1,432 families in
Peterborough-Kawartha have found affordable housing with the assistance of more than $7
million in federal government investments. Good work to build affordable housing in
Peterborough has been done for many years by groups like the Mount Community Centre, and
supported by the federal government.

However, we know that more housing is needed. We know that Peterborough needs 2,000 new
units in the next two years as part of a longer-term plan for housing. Through the combined
efforts of everyone in attendance at today’s meeting – elected officials, including MPP Dave
Smith, Peterborough County Warden J. Murray Jones and City councillors, City staff, land
developers, private investors, front-line workers - and with billions of funding available through
the first-ever federal National Housing Strategy, which is already delivering early results to our
community, we can make this ambitious goal happen – if we work together.

When Peterborough is presented with challenges, we always rise to the occasion to not only
meet them, but exceed them. We make the impossible possible. Together, we will ensure
everyone has a home they can be proud of and feel safe in.

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Mayor Diane Therrien MP Maryam Monsef

City of Peterborough Peterborough-Kawartha