June 25, 2018 – The Kenora District Services Board conducted a study in the communities it serves, resulting in 393 people admitting to being without a home. CAO Henry Wall warns that the numbers are likely much higher as they do not take into account transient population or those living in homes without heat, hydro or water.
Sioux Lookout Mayor Doug Lawrance agrees, indicating the number is likely higher with a high volume of people travelling to and from Indigenous communities without a permanent place to stay.
Wall stresses that they have to immediately sit down with community partners as well as municipal, provincial, federal and Indigenous leaders to get ahead of the crisis.
OAHS has begun to address some of the need expressed in the area with a 30 unit Pre & Post Natal Housing building being built in Sioux Lookout for women in children in close proximity to the hospital, and another 20 units in Sioux Lookout for bachelors, with onsite programming for those experiencing chronic homelessness.
