Two people from the Nipissing District will sit on a new panel that will try and address housing needs across the North.
One of them is Joe Bradbury, CAO, District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board, who told BayToday that this area is worse off than most of the province.
"We have a wait list of over 900 individuals that are currently eligible for subsidized housing so there is a significant list, Bradbury told BayToday. "Because of the socio-economic data for this region, there is slightly lower income so it (the list) would probably be a little bit higher than the provincial average."
The new expert Housing Panel brought together by the North East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) will focus on the housing and support needs of the frail elderly, homeless and at-risk populations, as well as our region’s vulnerable population groups, including people with mental illness and addiction issues.
Feedback received from participants at the North East LHIN’s Housing Forum - Building for the Future held last fall, indicated the need for a regional approach to housing and a panel.
At its March 30th meeting, the LHIN Board learned that the call for panel members resulted in 49 people applying to sit on the 23 member panel.
“With so many strong and outstanding applicants, it was difficult to whittle down the number,” said LHIN Senior Director Catherine Matheson. “We wanted the panel to respect our region’s rich diversity, including urban and rural geography, First Nation and Francophone representation. In addition, it was important for the panel to have senior leaders from a variety of sectors including housing, health, private, public, and economic development.”
This new panel of experts will assist the North East LHIN in developing an Innovative Housing and Health Strategy.
The panel will meet monthly and take into consideration the LHIN’s Integrated Health Service Plan (2016-2019) which identifies housing as a key enabler to health care transformation. The panel will also consider the latest announcement on March 14th by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for a Supportive Housing Policy Framework to improve client outcomes.
The March 14th announcement further identified more than $100 million in funding over the next three years for new supportive housing units to improve access for up to 4,000 families and individuals to services like counselling, dispensing medication, and life skills. It also identified support for the construction of up to 1,500 new supportive housing units across Ontario over the long term.
The North East LHIN Expert Housing Panel includes:
- Joe Bradbury, CAO, District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board (North Bay)
- Tanya Nixon, Vice-President of Mental Health, North Bay Regional Health Centre
- Lyle Hall, Mayor, Village of Sundridge
- Marliese Gause, CEO, The Friends (Parry Sound)
- Andrea Lee, Director of Rehabilitation and Community Care Program, Health Sciences North (Sudbury)
- Angele Desormeau, Executive Director, South Cochrane Addictions Services (Timmins)
- Brian Marks, Director Housing Services, Cochrane DSSAB (Timmins)
- Dan O’Mara, Retired CEO of the MICs Hospital Group (Temagami)
- Don McBain, Executive Director, Ontario Aboriginal Housing (Sault Ste. Marie)
- Gail Spencer, Homelessness Coordinator, City of Greater Sudbury
- Gary Scripnik, NE LHIN Board of Directors.
- Janice Bray, Manager of Housing Services, District of Parry Sound Social Services Administration Board (Parry Sound)
- Janice Newsome, Director of Planning, Town of Hearst (Hearst)
- Jeff Barban, Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Board (SSM)
- Jeff Perry, President, Perry+Perry Architects (Sudbury)
- Joe Dipietro, President, Autumnwood Mature Lifestyle Communities (Sudbury)
- John Wilson, Strategy and Advocacy, The Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (Toronto)
- Kris Longston, Acting Manager, Community and Strategic Planning, Greater Sudbury
- Lisa H. Meawasige - Mental Health & Addictions Manager - Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services
- Marion Quigley, CEO, CMHA Sudbury-Manitoulin (Sudbury)
- Maurey O’Neil, CEO, Economic Development Corporation of Wawa
- Michael Cullen, ED, United Way Sudbury & Nipissing Districtt
- Michel Mayer, ED, Centre de santé communautaire de Sudbury Est, (Noëlville)
The NE LHIN Innovative Housing and Health Expert Panel will recommend the strategy to the NE LHIN Board in the fall of 2016. They will be supported in their efforts by the Northern Ontario Service Delivery Association (NOSDA).
Across Northeastern Ontario:
- 20%, or 1 in 5 Northerners are 65 or older -- climbing to 1 in 4 by 2025 - a 5% increase.
- Assisted living for seniors has grown from 530 units (2008) to 1,700+ (2015).
- Long-term care has increased by 280 beds since 2008 to 5,048 (Spring 2015).
- Convalescent care has grown from 30 (2008) to 44 beds (2015) with a goal of 96 beds by 2031.
On average, it cost $486 a day to keep a person in hospital, compared to $72 per day to care for a person in the community with supports.
