Golf courses in London, Ont., set to be used as homeless shelters this winter

There are plans for the municipal River Road and Fanshawe golf courses on the outskirts of London, Ont., to be sites for trailers for those experiencing homelessness this winter, as part of a revamped response for people without a place to escape from the cold. 

"There is no silver bullet to solving homelessness this winter. We are trying to fill in a gap, we're trying to fill a post-COVID reality, where we're seeing more people on our streets," said Kevin Dickins, who runs the city's housing and social services. 

"Last year, we had the first-of-its-kind winter response in the midst of COVID, and we were learning as we went. We have learned a lot of lessons and it would be irresponsible to just roll out the same winter response this year." 

Among those lessons: more drop-in spaces are needed, including at night for those needing to leave the cold for a couple of hours, and that the core isn't necessarily the best place for temporary shelters. 

"We made an assumption last year that the trailers needed to be in the community, but some folks are happy to be away from the public eye. They're good at being isolated and discreet and remote," Dickins told media when announcing the plan, ahead of a public release on the community and protective services agenda on Wednesday. 

Politicians will debate the plan on Tuesday before it goes to full council for approval on Nov. 16. 

The plan has four sites: 

"Last year we didn't have an overnight drop-in space for people to be overnight, not worried about the elements, where they can lock up their stuff and not have to sleep with one eye open," Dickins said.

The temporary winter shelters last year were located on Elizabeth Street and York Street. Some in those neighbourhoods complained about the individuals who were homeless, and some living in the trailers felt watched and wanted a more discreet location. 

"We're making use of temporarily underused city assets this year," said Dickins. 

If approved by city council, the sites would be open by Dec. 1. They would remain open until March 31 except the Fanshawe Golf Course location, which would close March 1.