Homeless advocates remain happy with city deal as four-day hunger strike aimed at drawing attention to dozens of deaths in London, Ontario, ended last week . solution.
#TheForgotten519 The coalition, local authorities and city officials reached an agreement Friday after hours of meetings over the course of a week.
READ MORE: Hunger strike ends after City of London's Forgotten 519 reaches deal to help homeless
{15 Dr Andrea Sereda, Member of the Organizing Committee of #TheForgotten519 and Physician at the London Intercommunity Health Centre, said: "We were able to see a change in the way camps were treated in London and make it a more collaborative and supportive response."19} @Forgotten519 is so proud of our community
I would like to share these photos documenting your support and support #ldnont
Photo Credit: Christopher LaRocque
/1 pic.twitter.com/LZMe7lEpal
— The Forgotten 519 (@Forgotten519) 08/08/2022
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First set by group earlier last week Following the request, a nine-step action plan was developed, including parameters for dealing with camps and the people within, and when city ordinances would engage community task forces.
This The plan will also provide materials to the City and the Community Task Force on where people can and cannot set up camps in terms of bylaws, and the City will provide London Cares with water and food in response to urgent needs. Seeking. for distribution.
Increased rain showers for those living in camps are also on the city's radar through the use of shower trails.
Hangar Sereda, who observed frontline workers in the weeks leading up to his strike, said:
``The City's credit for negotiating these demands and actually listening to the experiences of frontline workers has resulted in more We were able to develop a model."
Read More: 'Not in our name' — Homeless advocacy groups London City Hall launches hunger strike
The group's third request for 24/7 support is to move the site forward with more medium- to long-term support for the winter, with various It is still under development as a team of service providers has formed.
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Their first meeting is scheduled for his August 16th.
@Forgotten519 is very excited to share with #ldnont. Working with partners & @CityofLdnOnt …… pic.twitter.com/s8HeecUrXv
— The Forgotten 519 (@Forgotten519) 2022 August 5
Sereda added that requests were made to the city in the first week. My first conversation with the city was "uncomfortable".
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"As one of the members of #TheForgotten519, during that first week the city didn't want Listening to the group, I felt that their understanding of the situation was correct," she said. "But it has evolved.
''We have now reached a place where the city listens seriously to front-line experts.
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Highlighted a range of detailed letters of support and encouragement.
"We have received individual letters of support not only from members of the community, but also from the loved ones of the displaced," she said. “This support really corroborates the observations and experiences of frontline workers like #TheForgotten519. In that context, I think the city has gone home and really started listening.”
106}Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan told Global News last week that because local governments operate through dependencies, there is a need for homeless communities and others. He said resources cannot be made available overnight. at other levels of government.
"[City officials] work in an incredibly broken system, and local governments are just one player," Morgan said. "We do not have adequate support statewide to help vulnerable people, including those experiencing homelessness.
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"That's why we see the same problem replicated in other cities our size in Ontario, and frankly, other provinces. Canada ' he continued. “The system is not structured to provide people with the resources they need to support the explosive rise in the cost of living, either from an inflation perspective or from an earlier housing cost perspective.
120} "There is certainly work to be done in the short term to serve those who live in the camp. With that said, we can't take our eyes off the medium-to-long term foundation needed to provide affordable housing space for those who simply can't afford the market today."Asked about the same issue, Sereda said, "We need to treat housing as an absolute crisis at all levels of government."
The Crisis Or the solution for this crisis. But I think the first step we took last week in London was to acknowledge that we are at stake," she said.
