Downtown Mission reacts to dramatic rise in Windsor-Essex homelessness
New numbers show 672 people are currently experiencing homelessness in Windsor-Essex — a dramatic jump from the 251 counted in 2021.
'It's not a pleasant message to share with our supporters and community partners. Volumes for services and programs are at an all-time high. Shelter beds, meal programs, Food Bank, Phoenix Program (Addiction Recovery Program), as well as our Windsor Youth Centre programs are at capacity. We are doing our best to meet the demands we're seeing across the organization, but some days we are barely treading water,' said Executive Director, Rukshini-Ponniah Goulin.
The mission said it is struggling to access adequate resources to manage and make progress on reducing the number of people living on our streets.
On any given day, the mission said it provides an average of 400 meals, welcomes approximately 150 individuals into its day programs, feeds approximately 80 people a day through its Food Bank and shelters about 120 people overnight.
The Windsor Youth Centre, which the mission said is a critical drop-in program for youth aged 16 to 24, has seen a significant surge, now serving an average of 1,100 youth each month.
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