Lambton County's Approach

Prevention

This approach focuses on stopping people from experiencing homelessness in the first place. It includes help with rent, utility arrears, or supports to prevent eviction, such as legal services.

Eviction Prevention Supports

• Supports to prevent eviction, through legal assistance, education on rights, and landlord mediation.
• The following local agencies offer this support: Community Legal Assistance Sarnia C.L.A.S., County of Lambton Housing Services, and the Social Services Integrated Homelessness Team.

Homelessness Prevention Supports

• Resources for households at risk of homelessness, such as drop-in centres and community navigators.
• The following local agencies offer this support: Housing & Homelessness Resource Centre, North Lambton Community Health Centre, River City Vineyard, The Good Shepherds Lodge, The HUB, Rebound, and the Social Services Integrated Homelessness Team.

Rental Arrears Assistance

• Funding to help households who will be evicted if they do not pay previous months' rent owed.
• The following local agencies offer this support: Ontario Works, NeighbourLink Sarnia, Salvation Army, and The Inn of the Good Shepherd.

Utility Arrears Assistance

• Funding to help households who will be evicted if they do not pay previous months' utilities. 
• The following local agencies offer this support: Ontario Works, NeighbourLink Sarnia, Salvation Army, and The Inn of the Good Shepherd

Emergency Services

These are immediate, short-term solutions for people who are already experiencing homelessness. They may include emergency shelters, drop-in centres, food programs, and outreach services.

Community Outreach

• Support from workers who go into the community and meet with individuals living outside to provide housing case management, and offer basic needs supports (e.g., food and sanitation supplies).
• Learn more about the Outreach Team and their services here: Community Outreach Page

Emergency and Transitional Housing

• Overnight shelter beds or units offered to individuals and households experiencing homelessness. 
• The following local agencies offer this support: The Good Shepherd's Lodge, the Haven, River City Vineyard, the Women's Interval Home, and Ohana Landing.

Food Security Programs

• Resources to feed and provide households with groceries, including hot meals, food banks, and markets.
• The following local agencies have programs: The Inn of the Good Shepherd, Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul, Food Banks in Lambton County, Garden Fresh Box and Mobile Market.

Housing and Homelessness Resource Centre (HHRC)

• A local drop-in centre providing resources to individuals or households experiencing homelessness.
• Learn more about the centre's services and monthly schedule here: HHRC Page.

Long-term Housing Solutions

This approach focuses on ending homelessness through permanent housing at a low cost. This includes new housing developments, rent supplements and benefits, or supportive housing with stabilizing supports such as case management, healthcare services, and employment supports.

Additional Dwelling Unit Incentive Program

• A program providing homeowners with loan assistance to create an additional dwelling unit at their home.
• Learn more about program eligibility and the application process here: Additional Dwelling Unit Incentive Program Page.

Affordable Housing Seed Funding Program

• A program providing grants to assist with the planning costs of building a new affordable housing project.

• Learn more about program eligibility and the application process here: Affordable Housing Seed Funding Program Page.

Affordable and Supportive Housing Partnerships

• A multi-year strategic development plan to address the affordable and supportive housing crisis in Lambton, in collaboration with Flourish and Indwell.
• Read the full action plan here: At Home in the County of Lambton Report.

Rent Subsidy Programs

• Assistance for households at-risk of homelessness, such as benefits, subsidies, and rent-geared-to-income.
• The following local agencies offer this support: Canadian Mental Health Association Lambton-Kent, County of Lambton Housing Services, Lambton Elderly Outreach, Sarnia-Lambton Children's Aid Society, and the Social Services Integrated Homelessness Team.

1) Why are we seeing more homelessness on our streets?

Absolute homelessness - often referred to as “sleeping rough” or “street homelessness” - is homelessness that occurs outside or in makeshift, unsheltered conditions such as encampments. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased this form of homelessness, with 94% of communities surveyed in the 2022 National Survey on Homeless Encampments reporting that current or past encampments had formed in their communities. 

Absolute homelessness is also a result of the Root Causes of Homelessness. Although many people picture this form of homelessness when discussing housing and homelessness, only 2.2% of Canadians experience absolute homelessness, whereas 10.5% experience hidden homelessness (e.g., couch surfing). 

2) How are homelessness prevention services funded?

Homelessness Prevention Services in Lambton County are funded by individual not-for-profit agencies, that may also receive support through Social Services. Social Services also directly delivers services to families and individuals, and supports local agencies using funding from the Federal Reaching Home program (RH), the Provincial Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP), and County of Lambton levy dollars, among other funding sources.

The following tables summarize the allocation of program funds for the Homelessness Prevention Department:

3) What kinds of housing are available in Lambton?

Lambton County’s housing supply reflects the entire housing continuum, from emergency shelter to home ownership. The increasing cost of home ownership has led to more demand in the private rental market, while the increasing prevalence of homelessness has led to more demand for supportive, affordable, and social housing.

These middle-ground housing options (supportive and social) are vital to transitioning community members from homelessness into secure housing. At present, the County of Lambton has funding agreements with partner agencies who operate supportive housing and affordable housing. The County operates its own social housing through the Housing Services Department. A greater quantity of supportive and affordable housing is required to reduce homelessness and keep up with local demand. For more information on the County’s affordable and supportive housing initiatives, read the most recent Affordable Housing Update to County Council. 

4) When do temporary shelters and winter shelters operate?

The Out of the Cold program is a seasonal temporary shelter program that operates once a year when temperatures drop low enough to pose harm to people experiencing homelessness that stay outside. The purpose of this program is to offer relief from the elements and meet demands for emergency shelter as it increases throughout the winter months. This program began in 2021 at Central United Church, and moved operations to the former Laurel Lea-St Matthew Presbyterian Church at 837 Exmouth St in 2022 and 2023.

This space also hosts the Housing and Homelessness Resource Centre (HHRC), so that individuals in the Out of the Cold program can easily access services during their shelter stay.

In May of 2024 County Council voted to extend this program through the summer months, to ensure individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness had ample opportunity to access shelter beds.

5) How can I help people experiencing homelessness?

6) What is considered affordable housing?

What is considered affordable will vary from person to person. However, in Canada housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30% of a household's before-tax income. The County of Lambton also uses this definition of affordability. For example, if a household earns $44,000 a year, their maximum affordable monthly rent or mortgage would be $1,100.

The County can supply rent subsidies to a household struggling with affordability, to make up for the difference between what is affordable based on their income and what market housing prices are.

7) What is the shelter allowance for households on social assistance?

In Ontario, social assistance is given to households through the Ontario Works (OW) Program or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Social assistance rates are determined by the province, and vary depending on the size of a household. Shelter allowance is a portion of social assistance intended to cover both rent and utilities every month. Ontario Works rates have not changed since 2018, while ODSP rates were adjusted to account for inflation beginning in July of 2023. The shelter allowance for OW and ODSP in Lambton County are outlined in the table below:

It typically costs $1200.00 per month to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Lambton County, exceeding both OW and ODSP's shelter allowance by over $600.00.

8) Why doesn’t the County invest local resources in tiny homes?

Tiny homes and tiny home villages are often utilized as a form of non-permanent housing (i.e., shelter or transitional housing). As an accommodation, they meet individuals' need for a bed and a roof over their head, but do not meet the need for long-term, stable housing. The annual operational costs of maintaining a tiny home complex exceeds the costs of operating existing local emergency shelters, and requires additional upfront investments including enough land for single-dwelling, non-stacked units, adequate plumbing, lighting, and electricity, and ongoing harm reduction, outreach and housing case management services. There would be no significant time saved in the implementation of such an intervention, when considering all the necessary steps (i.e., zoning etc.). Diverting funds towards additional temporary solutions would come at the cost of more sustainable, long-term interventions such as permanent supportive housing and deeply affordable housing.

9) What are harm reduction services?

Harm reduction is an evidence-based healthcare approach that reduces the harms associated with substance use.  This may include practices such as testing drugs for harmful contaminants like fentanyl, using substances in a safe environment with a trusted peer to supervise, or administering naloxone to somebody who appears to have overdosed.

To learn more about the application of these services locally, read about the Lambton Public Health Harm Reduction Program and North Lambton Community Health Centre's Harm Reduction/Hepatitis C Care Team.

10) What are Housing First services?

‘Housing First' is an approach to ending homelessness that focuses on quickly moving people experiencing homelessness into independent and permanent housing and then providing additional supports and services as needed. Housing First has been proven to increase housing stability and outcomes for people experiencing homelessness, while decreasing government spending.

Housing First is based on the following five principles:

1. Immediate access to permanent housing with no housing readiness requirements - This involves working with individuals and families to locate and secure permanent housing as quickly as possible.
2. Choice and self-determination – Individuals and families are provided choices in terms of housing options as well as the services they wish to access.
3. Recovery oriented - Housing First practice is not simply focused on meeting basic client needs, but on supporting recovery.
4. Individualized and client driven – A client-driven approach recognizes that individuals are unique, and so are their needs.
5. Community integration – This involves promoting services and relationships that promote community belonging in the neighbourhood where individuals and families reside.

To learn more about the effectiveness of housing first in Canada, read the National At Home/Chez Soi Final Report.

11) How many people are experiencing homelessness in Lambton County?

There are currently over 300 individuals on Lambton County’s By-Name List of homelessness. This is not the number of individuals that are sleeping outside. This list includes community members from across Lambton County who are couch-surfing, housed unstably, staying in emergency shelters, staying in transitional housing, or sleeping outside.

The Homelessness Prevention Outreach team conducts mapping and data collection alongside local service providers to ensure we have an accurate understanding of who is experiencing homelessness locally. Of these 300+ individuals, roughly 70 individuals have reported sleeping outside at some point each month.

No, individuals that are experiencing homelessness in Lambton, are from Lambton. Through the delivery of social assistance, and our homelessness prevention system, social services operates two dedicated information systems that include detailed housing history for every consenting individual experiencing homelessness. This available information includes housing history, and social assistance history from all other Ontario communities. 

While individuals experiencing homelessness can be transient, it is the rare exception that individuals experiencing homelessness come to Lambton from other municipalities. When individuals from out-of-town access our local system, they are assisted in returning to their home community.

Individuals are not bussed into Lambton from other communities. Social service leads across Ontario municipalities work closely together and stay in close contact with each other – these rumours are unfounded.