A representative from churches and other agencies working to address the homelessness situation in Exeter told county councillors this week that it is a growing problem.
It was also shared with council that the South Huron area does not have the resources to deal with it.
Heather MacKechnie explained in some cases people cannot even access the services that are available because they are homeless.
“People that want to work, without an address or a phone number, or appropriate clothes, it's very difficult to do that. Or if you need to apply for long term disability or Ontario Works, again, it comes back to where are you living. So a lot of times you have to have housing in place first before you can access some of the other resources,” said MacKechnie.
MacKechnie said she believes the homelessness issue has been invisible in most communities for a long time.
“The biggest thing, to begin with, is raising the awareness. I think this is a problem that has been invisible in our communities for quite some time and I think that opening up the communication not only helps us to access the resources that are already present, but it helps us to identify the gaps and look at ways that we can fill those gaps,” added MacKechnie.
