Affordable housing needed to address homelessness in Chatham

Backlash over an encampment in Chatham has increased the urgency to find solutions to the issue of homelessness.

Residents and business owners have voiced concerns from open drug use to vandalism in and around a homeless encampment at 325 Grand Ave. E., on the green space of the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission property, which also features walking paths and soccer fields.

Chatham-Kent council will discuss a proposed change to its homeless encampment protocol at its meeting on Monday night. Council will consider a recommendation from Mayor Darrin Canniff to increase the distance of encampments from residential and business properties from 10 metres to 100m. This recommendation, along with many other recently approved changes to the protocol, will surely impact where the current e