Ark Aid Street Mission won’t run a homeless hub— but offers to assist

Shelter abstains from operating homeless hub Ark Aid Street Mission outlines why it did not make a bid for one of London's homeless hubs. Daryl Newcombe reports.

“We’ve been serving a thousand basic needs a day, seven days a week this summer,” explained Sarah Campbell, executive director of Ark Aid Street Mission.

After participating in the city’s Request for Proposals (RFP) process, Ark Aid decided not to bid to operate one of the first low-barrier service hubs opening in December as part of London’s Whole of Community Response to Homelessness.

But Campbell still envisions a future role.

“We are certainly open to it, but it would only be in a partnership, and it would only be when we can shift some of our resources from these basic needs,” she told CTV News.

According to city hall, there are about 2,000 people experiencing homelessness in London— 600 are considered high needs individuals.

The hubs are intended to assist those individuals with the greatest need.

Meanwhile, there will remain significant need in the community for shelter spaces, meals, and other supports.

The Whole of Community Response intends to open 600 transitional housing units (100 this year) and up to 15 low-barrier service hubs (3-5 in December).

The strategy is intended to create new pathways to becoming permanently housed, while existing shelters and service providers will continue to serve a critical role for hundreds of people.

“We can’t build a new system without sustaining what we have until we move into this new (system),” explained Campbell. “So it’s not an easy process.”

Agencies that submitted a bid to operate one or two hubs are:

Proposed addresses for service hubs will be made public in a couple weeks.

Council will then consider the bids at a committee meeting September 25.

Campbell says the agencies eventually selected to operate hubs will have willing partners in the Ark and other existing shelters, “Every organization is looking for ways to support these lead agencies, and that is the magic of the Whole of Community Response— all these organizations contributing.”