Homelessness in our Milton Community press release

Members of the Milton community met Wednesday evening for an open discussion forum on the homeless issue in Milton. There is currently no provision in the town for homeless people. Homeless individuals and families are shipped out of Milton to outlying towns as there is no provision for them here. There is acknowledgment that the homeless issue is likely to rise as the population of Milton continues to rise. It is not an issue that can be ignored and does require a coordinated approach by all members of the community and business community.
David Jenkins, coordinator of the All Saint’s Kingsway out of the Cold program in Toronto was able to give his insight to the group from their 14 years of experience in Toronto. Similar Out-of-the-cold programs in Waterloo, Cambridge and Barrie were also described. David commented; “We are truly blessed by the support we receive from volunteers and the local community. Without this support we would not be able to serve the needs of the homeless and most disadvantaged people in our society”.
Paul Gregory from the Halton Region who has worked with these programs for more than 10 years was able to describe the stories behind the people. They are people sometimes well educated, who have fallen on hard times, through illness, injury, break down in families and left with insufficient money to pay for rent and food. Sometimes they are families who may still have some employment income and children and so shipping families outside Milton creates greater issues for children and employees displaced from the school or place of work”. Paul added “The best programs [OOTC] are those that build trust and relationships with people, that was our moto, working among those and trying to build relationships based on trust.”
This week’s community forum did result in an advancement in the process towards establishing an Out-of-the-cold program or Soup Kitchen beginning possibly as early as this winter. The Halton Region has recently posted application for $3million of funding to support affordable housing and homeless issues by the end of 2010. The St Paul’s Mission & Outreach team is calling on other churches, groups and individuals to assist them in developing a program and applying for funding.