GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
Monday, January 5 - 10:00 am to 11:30 am
Central Public Library, Stevenson & Hunt Room - 251 Dundas Street
1. Call to Order – Abe Oudshoorn, Chair
2. Mission Statement - The London Homeless Coalition exists to advise, shape and coordinate community responses to homelessness, and related needs to the London area.
3. Introduction of and Welcome to those in Attendance
Abe Oudshoorn, Chair Jan Regan, CoL, Recording Secretary
Jan Richardson, Homeless Prevention, CoL Justin Langille, LIHC
Geoff Bardwell, Western University David Small, CMHA-Middlesex
Derek Dilabbio, Independent John Thompson, St. John’s the Evanglist
Jaclyn Seeler, United Way Shelley Yeo, WCH
Brandon Agnew, London CAReS Nancy Powers, SA CoH
Deb Peckham, LHAC Lorraine Stuyt, Mission Services
Jesse Helmer, Councillor, CoL Grant Martin, London CAReS
Jason Westbrook, Housing, CoL Mirella Bryant, YOU
Gordon Russell, Mission Services Martha Connoy, Mission Services
Barhet Woldemariam, CMHA-Middlesex Trevor Johnson, Homeless Prevention, CoL
Michele Reid, Homeless Prevention, CoL David Caloren, London Public Library
Victoria Pilon, CNRC Samantha Matty, CNRC
Dani Bartlett, Unifor Local 27 Melissa Hardy-Trevenna, LSTAR
Susan Macphail, CMHA-Middlesex/MSP Michelle Lynne Goodfellow, LMHC
Chris Loblaw, Independent
4. Approval of Agenda
Motion: To approve the agenda, noting 9.1 Membership and Attendance to be discussed following the approval of the minutes for March 2, 2015.
Moved: Chris Loblaw
Seconded: Derek Dilabbio
Carried.
5. Approval of Minutes of The General Membership Meeting January 5, 2015
Motion: To approve the minutes of the meeting on January 5, 2015.
Moved: Melissa Hardy-Trevenna
Seconded: Michelle Lynn Goodfellow
Carried.
9.1 Membership and Attendance
Abe reviewed the membership structure as approved under the new Terms of Reference. There are three types of members: Members; Associate Members; and Resource Members.
Members are representatives of an organization or an individual who are expected to regularly attend general membership meetings and have voting status. More than one individual of an organization may obtain membership status by formal written request and at the discretion of the Steering Committee.
Associate and Resource Members are interested members of the community who are free to attend the general membership meetings but are not expected to regularly do so and do not have voting rights.
Anyone wishing to discuss their membership status can contact Melissa Hardy-Trevenna, Membership Coordinator at:
6. Business Arising from January 5, 2015 minutes
6.1 Homes 4 Women – Barhet Woldemariam, Project Coordinator
Homes 4 Women (H4W), is a two year Housing First project funded by the London Community Foundation aimed at providing housing and support to 50 women and families. The first 4-6 months will focus on policy and practice development. The project is a collaborative initiative overseen byWomen’s Community House, Health Zone Nurse Practitioner Clinic and CMHA Middlesex, My Sisters’ Place.
6.2 Priorities for 2015
20 survey responses have been received. It is anticipated that the priorities will be approved at the March Steering Committee meeting and work will commence in April 2015 (ie. forming working groups).
The top three priorities include:
1. Our Governments
Poverty has a significant income component based on the gap between the cost of basic necessities, and social assistance rates.
We will continue to lobby for an increase in social assistance rates.
2. Our Community
Homelessness affects us all as citizens of London and area.
We will ask our community members what they can do to be a part of ending homelessness.
3. Ourselves
We can end homelessness in London, but to do so we need to be collaborating together to form the components of a comprehensive system.
We will build community collaboration with a common vision of ending homelessness.
Discussion
The membership offered comments/suggestions and posed questions for consideration related to the top three priorities including:
· Coming up with action steps under each priority?
· Moving forward with specific tasks
· A starting point is bringing awareness to the community that there is a homeless issue in London
· Create public education tools (ie. video, pamphlet, public speaking)
· Soup ‘n Bread – continue with this event, and use it to highlight the priorities. It was suggested to send personal invitations to City Councillors, and to have material available for distribution to attendees
· Jess Helmer, City Councillor, confirmed that there is no increase in the funding in the budget for homeless prevention. Municipal Council is beginning to work on the multi-year budget.
· It was suggested to rework the wording of the first priority to include poverty and income supports
Motion: To approve the top three priorities in principle noting the Steering Committee will refine the wording.
Moved: Shelley Yeo
Seconded: Derek Dilabbio
Carried.
7. Standing Items
7.1 City Updates – Jan Richardson, Manager, Homeless Prevention
Jan indicated how valuable the practice of reviewing the London Homeless Coalition’s Mission Statement at the start of each meeting is.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit’s current Extreme Cold Weather Alert has terminated. Jan thanked and acknowledged the shelters, London CAReS, YOU, MSP, LIHC, and others for their support and efforts during cold weather alerts, including extending hours, and sharing resources (ie. hats, mitts, scarves) that were collected as a result of a media request.
i) Homeless Count
“How many homeless individuals are there in our community?” is often asked. At this time we don’t have a clear number. A Point in Time (PIT) count of unique individuals is required to answer the question and will require many volunteers to ensure individuals are only counted once. A successful count was conducted during the USA 100,000 Home Campaign and is now being tested through the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
One action of London Homeless Prevention Implementation Plan is to conduct a count. We want to ensure it is done with the right model the first time and we will continue to review the different models and practices. It is a great model to involve diverse community members.
ii) Community Plan Regarding Street Level Women at Risk
The Implementation Model on London’s Community Plan Regarding Street Level Women at Risk, “Hard to Stop… Harder to Stay Stopped” has been endorsed by 22 organizations. Two meetings are scheduled in March. Rhonda Brittan Public Health Nurse, MLHU has joined the Homeless Prevention Team for three months (January – March 2015) to move forward with the implementation of the Model.
iii) Court Order to Reside (O2R) Project
The purpose of the Court Order to Reside Pilot Project is to focus on a subset of homeless individuals who are before the courts, eligible to be released into the community to await their trial, and agree to reside at The Salvation Army Centre of Hope on a court order.
This collaborative pilot project involves a number of key services working together and includes:
· St. Leonard’s Community Services
· The Salvation Army Centre of Hope
· The Salvation Army Justice Services
· Mission Services of London -Men’s Mission
· Unity Project for the Relief of Homelessness
iv) Centralized Intake / Data Base System
Nicole Kovacs, Consultant, Kovacs Group Inc. has been retained to develop the Centralized Intake for emergency shelters and the Integrated Data Base for homeless serving organizations. The Centralized Intake Working Group has started their regular meetings and will continue through 2015.
v) The Homelessness Partnering Strategy
The Homelessness Partnering Strategy is federal funding provided to the City of London, as the Community Entity, under the direction of the London Homeless Coalition, serving as the Community Advisory Board, and is aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada under a Housing First approach.
All HPS contracts for this funding cycle have been completed and issued. All projects will terminate March 31, 2015.
A Request for Proposal for project funding for the period April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2019 closed January 13, 2015 and a Review Committee comprised of representatives from the London Homeless Coalition Steering Committee, London Police Service, Middlesex London Health Unit, London Public Library, United Way of London and Middlesex, Service Canada and the City of London reviewed all applications. The allocation and contract process is underway. Notices will be sent to all applicants advising of the status of their submission.
vi) Housing Division – Josh Browne
In August 2014, the Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) for Ontario (2014 Extension) was announced. The City of London is developing a detailed Program Delivery and Fiscal Plan to be presented to City Council. An update will be provided at a future meeting.
7.2 Update from Steering Committee
Abe welcomed Justin Langille to the Steering Committee. Justin works at the London InterCommunity Health Centre as a member of the outreach team.
7.3 LHC Memorial Committee – Grant Martin
Grant indicated that there are a few outstanding Participation Agreements. Please submit these to Abe Oudshoorn.
During 2015, the Memorial Committee will focus on Objective #4: ‘To hold community based memorial services following the death of a homeless individual’.
Brandon Agnew has agreed to chair the committee and Rhonda Bates will continue as Recording Secretary. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month starting at 9:00 am (before the general membership meeting).
7.4 Updates from Other Committees that Members Serve On
Abe announced that he no longer serves on the London Housing Advisory Committee (LHAC), and has been appointed to the London Middlesex Housing Corporation’s (LMHC) Board of Directors.
Abe reported that the LHAC is conducting a review of existing by-laws related to substandard housing. Jeff Schlemmer, Neighbourhood Legal Services and Abe have requested an opportunity to speak at the March 24th CPSC meeting.
8. General Announcements
8.1 Women’s Community House – Shelley Yeo
Women’s Community House offers a 24 hour helpline, a counselling and support centre, and other services and supports for abused women and children. The new brochure is available in multiple languages.
8.2 International Women’s Day – March 8, 2015
March 8 is celebrated around the world as International Women's Day and has been observed since the early 1900's. Local events recognize the strength and contribution of women, and the critical areas of concern that remain to realize women's equality. London events include:
· March 5 – LAWC’s 15th Annual IWD Breakfast and Auction- London Convention Centre
· March 5 - Indigenous Women Breaking Barriers: A Mother and Daughter’s Story – Brescia University College
· March 7 – Women’s Dance – London Music Club
· March 9 – All Our Sisters IWD Celebration – Wolf Performance Hall, Central Library
8.3 Homes 4 Women – Susan Macphail
Susan provided a brief overview of the Homes 4 Women project, and announced that staff is in place including Barhet Woldemariam, Project Coordinator, and Jenn Vale, Housing Support Coordinator. Community meetings will be scheduled in the near future.
8.4 London Diversity and Race Relations Advisory Committee – Michelle Lynn Goodfellow
Michelle serves as a resource member on the London Diversity and Race Relations Advisory Committee and reported that the Committee has submitted a request to Council to change the name of the committee to London Diversity and Inclusivity Advisory Committee’, to allow for another avenue for issues such as poverty, and mental illness to be presented to Council.
8.5 LGBTQ Project – Geoff Bardwell
The Unity Project has hired consultant Geoff Bardwell to conduct a consultation to examine and develop a ‘best practices’ service model for London’s emergency shelters to better serve LGBTQ individuals who are experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness.
Geoff thanked everyone who participated in the community meetings, noting input has been received from 66 individuals.
9. Other Business
9.1 Membership and Attendance
Was discussed following the approval of the minutes.
9.2 CAEH Conference – November 2015 – Montreal
The London Homeless Coalition membership was asked to consider whether there is interest in submitting a collaborative proposal to the conference planning committee. If your organization is interested, contact Abe. Subsidies are available for individuals with lived experience.
http://www.caeh.ca/
9.3 LTC / Bus Passes – Jess Helm, City Councillor
Jesse reported that LTC bus tickets will be available for at least another year. It is anticipated that reloadable bus passes will start to be phased in during April 2015.
Since Ontario Works changed their practice of issuing monthly bus passes to eligible participants to issuing $81 cash, the LTC is reporting an unexpected decrease in their revenue.
Action: Abe will work with Jesse and extend an invitation to a LTC representative to come to a future London Homeless Coalition meeting to provide an update and receive feedback from organizations who provide bus tickets to the clients.
10. Date and time for next LHC General Meeting
Monday, April 13, 2015 Central Library Stevenson & Hunt Room, main floor
11. Adjournment
London Homeless Coalition Steering Committee: Abe Oudshoorn, Grant Martin, Deb Peckham, , Melissa Hardy-Trevenna, Mirella Bryant, Susan Macphail, Shelley Yeo, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow, Justin Langille, Jan Richardson.
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