The number of people sleeping outside in Thunder Bay has nearly tripled since last summer

The number of people known to be sleeping in tent encampments in Thunder Bay, Ont., has nearly tripled compared to last year, as those on the front lines continue to help support them and stay as safe as they can. 

There are 140 people known to be sleeping outside in one of 12 encampments this summer, compared to a peak of 55 people last year. 

This is believed to be the highest number of people experiencing this type of homelessness ever in the northwestern Ontario city, said Holly Gauvin, the executive director of Elevate NWO, the lead agency directing support efforts at encampments across Thunder Bay. 

“This is almost three times as high and we have only 60 days of anticipated ‘tolerable’ weather before we are in big trouble,” Gauvin said.

Jonathan Green, who goes by Bear, has been an outreach and engagement worker with Elevate NWO for three months. Before that, he did peer support work with People Advocating for Change Through Empowerment and with the Rapid Access Addictions Medicine Clinic.

Each morning, he hands out about 130 breakfast bags across the city’s encampments. Thursday, people received a fruit cup, a muffin, a granola bar and a juice box, plus socks following Wednesday night’s rainstorm.

Workers also distribute harm reduction supplies and garbage bags.

“Everybody’s doing a really amazing job actually keeping the area clean,” he said. “It’s just a wonderful thing to see how hard they’re working at taking care of this place.” 

While he joked that the people who live there have to start their day by “seeing his ugly mug,” he said it’s hard to describe how doing this work makes him feel. 

“I can’t even explain it,” he said. “It puts a smile on my face.”

‘These are things that we take for granted’ 

While Elevate NWO’s efforts have been applauded by those on city council, other communities have seen more scrutiny directed toward outreach workers. In June, the City of Barrie saw controversy surrounding proposed bylaws that would have made it illegal for charitable groups to distribute food, literature, clothes, tents and tarps to unhoused people on public property.

And in January, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled the Region of Waterloo could not evict people from one of its homeless encampments if there aren’t enough emergency shelter beds available.

This summer, outreach workers in cities across Canada, including Winnipeg and Edmonton, have sounded the alarm over the growth of encampments.

In Thunder Bay, city council approved a motion this spring to “adopt a human rights-based approach to responding to unsheltered homelessness … prioritizing needs-based service provision to individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness,” according to a report prepared by the city’s manager of community strategies, Cynthia Olsen.

City staff are to report back early next year following a community consultation to determine what designated or supported encampments could look like in the city.

WATCH | Taking action on the front line of Thunder Bay’s addictions crisis: 

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For people like Bear, empathizing with those who live in the encampments is essential in understanding how to connect with them.

“I know people who will walk a mile to go use the bathroom. They don’t get the enjoyment of having a hot meal all the time, right? Roof over their head, warm bed to go into – these are things that we take for granted,” he said.

And he’s determined to keep helping, whether that means working overtime or skipping his lunch break, because he has the luxury of having a meal at home when he’s finished, he explained.

“They show me that the human spirit is the most powerful thing. It’s so, so heartwarming,” he said of the people he works with. “You appreciate the stuff you have but you also appreciate the hard effort that a lot of people put into it and the hope that they bring to other people.”

Colloboration between service groups

Elevate NWO has also been working with other organizations in the city to hold what they call “housing blitzes” twice this summer. These groups include:

• Alpha Court Community Mental Health and Addiction Services
• Canadian Mental Health Association Thunder Bay
• Dilico Anishinabek Family Care
• District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board
• John Howard Society
• Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic
• Street nurses
• Thunder Bay District Health Unit

“We are doing our best to get people out of the tents and into units or housing,” said Bear. “It’s doing the best for them, putting whatever tools we can together to help them.”

Through these events on either side of the city, Gauvin said they’ve reached more than 200 people, helping with housing applications, birth certificates, medical interventions such as HIV tests, and something called a Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT). This helps assess those in high need of housing and determine what other social services they require.

This summer, workers have helped complete:

• 198 housing applications
• 127 birth certificates
• 91 VI-SPDATs
• More than 100 medical interventions

Those that want to help can bring donations to Elevate NWO’s office at 106 Cumberland St. N. Unit 102.

When asked what message he has for the people of Thunder Bay, Bear said he wants them to not be so quick to judge others, regardless of where they call home, because they’re all members of the community.

“Be open-minded, see people where they’re at and just be understanding of stuff, right? It’s easy to make first assessments of stuff but once you start explaining stuff and communicate, it’s one of the best things in the world.

“You start to understand more and that’s the main thing: just for people to take the time to communicate, do a kind act. Everybody deserves kindness,” he said.