‘They are creating a homelessness ghetto’

Cathy Dobson/The Independent

Penny Cousins has lived on Bright Street in Sarnia for 73 years and she’s worried about her neighbourhood.

Lambton County announced last week that it has donated land around the corner from her house to build a 50-unit supportive housing complex for the community’s homeless population.

The land at 333 George St. has been given to Indwell, a Christian-based non-profit that specializes in providing its tenants with services that help them stay housed and off the streets.

In seven cities across Ontario, Indwell has already built 20 housing projects for 1,200 people and provided health care, addiction support, food security and community to turn their lives around.  It’s a formula that is proving successful.

In St. Thomas, for instance, two Indwell supportive housing projects have opened since 2021 and a third is under construction.  St. Thomas is one of the only communities in Canada where homelessness is decreasing, says Graham Cubitt, Indwell’s director of projects and development.

Still, Cousins isn’t convinced.

“We have the River City (Vineyard shelter) around the corner and we had so much trouble there.  Then the hospital shut down and we had people breaking in there. And now this,” she said while attending an open house hosted Tuesday by Indwell.

About 125 people packed the community room at the Lochiel Kiwanis Centre to see what Indwell has in mind and ask questions. 

Some, like Liz Cochrane, were collecting signatures for a petition to stop the project.

“The community needs to have a voice and there’s been no consultation,” said Cochrane who lives about four blocks away from the proposed site and has friends in the immediate neighbourhood.

“This is going to house people who can’t find housing because of their anti-social behaviour,” she said.  “With River City already in the neighbourhood, this is going to oversaturate it.  There’s no way they will be able to keep the neighbourhood safe.  It’s too risky.”

Cochrane estimated at least 200 people had signed the petition that she intended to take directly to Mayor Mike Bradley.  “He said he’d take it to council,” she said.

“The bottom line is that Indwell does good work,” said neighbour Kelly O’Connor-Beausoleil.  “They provide a good service to the community.  What upsets me is that Lambton County and the city think it’s okay to put it a block away from a shelter.  They are creating a homelessness ghetto.”

Cousins, Cochrane and O’Connor-Beausoleil all said the provincial government made a critical mistake when it closed psychiatric hospitals across Ontario 30 years ago and promised to integrate those residents into the community.

“They need to get those places open again so there are facilities that can help with mental illness,” said Cousins.

Chris Beausoleil, who lives with his wife Kelly in a new home built on the former Sarnia General Hospital site, said he was disappointed in Tuesday’s open house.

The open house was a two-hour opportunity to view concept drawings and discuss the plan with multiple Indwell reps.  But there was no formal presentation and no meeting format.

“Our neighbourhood has hosted the River City sanctuary for decades.  It’s not NIMBY (Not In My Backyard),” said Beausoleil.  “We’ve already contributed.  Our backyard is already full.  Find another neighbourhood that’s not already contributing.”

Beausoleil also said he is frustrated that Lambton County council made its decision to donate the George Street land to Indwell without community input.

During the open house, Indwell’s Cubitt admitted the announcement at a June 4 county council meeting may have come as a surprise to the neighbourhood.  But he said Indwell has been holding community meetings, presentations and forums in Sarnia for about two years and has been transparent about its work.

“It’s a challenge,” he said.  “We are not attempting to do anything in secrecy.”

It’s possible that some Sarnia residents didn’t know about Indwell’s interest in building supportive housing until last week but that’s the nature of the municipal process, Cubitt said.  “I don’t think any municipalities in Ontario do it differently.”

Indwell has dealt with neighbourhood “angst” before but finds that residents generally accept and support its efforts once they learn more about them, he said.

Chrissy McRoberts, a Sarnia city councillor who also sits on county council, was one of several politicians at the open house.  She said she intends to formally ask county staff to contact neighbourhoods “so they can have a say” when future projects are proposed in their area. “Even if it’s not legally required, the neighbours need to be told,” she said.

McRoberts voted in favour of donating 333 George St. to Indwell and said she fully supports their approach to ending homelessness. “There isn’t a site in Lambton County where people are going to say it’s okay, put it next to me.  But if everyone takes a few, we can integrate all the people who need this kind of assistance.”

Numerous neighbours said they want to know why Indwell intends to build and operate its most “enhanced” supportive housing model on George Street, which means it will house the chronically homeless, people coming directly off the street, and people with mental health and addiction problems who need a range of support services to stabilize and become healthy.

Judy Eising, Indwell’s director of community and donor engagement, provided an answer.

“We find when we move into a community, enhanced support is what most municipalities ask for because they want homelessness addressed quickly,” she said. 

The George Street project is estimated to cost $17 million and could open its doors by mid-2027, according to Cubitt.  Indwell intends to apply for financing through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, just as it has for every other Indwell project built in Ontario. 

Sarnia’s housing project will also be financed by a capital donation from Lambton County and a $5-million capital fundraising campaign.