The number of people experiencing homelessness and financial insecurity has reached record levels in Chatham-Kent.
Hope Haven has been offering services in Chatham, although general manager Loree Bailey says they also support residents in Wallaceburg.
“What we have in Wallaceburg is outreach, so we go out once a week and we are providing food, clothing, personal hygiene products, water, bus passes to the folks that we are finding.”
Bailey says since there is no physical Hope Haven location in Wallaceburg, the buses passes can be used to travel between Wallaceburg and Chatham to access more support services.
The need for those services has risen dramatically in the last year and a half.
“Since the pandemic, the number of people who are homeless and or living precariously, possibly housed but in housing that you wouldn’t consider to be housing, have had a 300% increase we’ve seen,” Bailey says. “Those are probably people who were couch surfing but due to the pandemic aren’t able to do that anymore.”
Anyone looking for help can reach Hope Haven by calling 519-351-4010.
