Council changes course again, funding daytime drop-in service for The Ark

Daytime drop-in services provided by Ark Aid Street Mission will continue for the next 12 months, albeit at a reduced level, after a last-minute decision by city council to extend funding.

A day after council’s March 31 deadline to stop funding the program, a majority of council redirected $611,000 of federal funding back to The Ark to maintain the service.

Up to 300 people attend The Ark at 696 Dundas St. each day to access support and basic needs including food, washrooms, showers, and laundry.

Coun. Susan Stevenson, whose ward includes the Old East Village (OEV), suggested the location wasn’t aligned with a previous council direction not to fund resting spaces on the main street of Business Improvement Areas.

Stevenson also suggested that the drop-in service attracts a greater number of homeless Londoners to the area and exacerbates social challenges experienced within the business district.

“I do not want to for another day take the taxpayer dollars of the residents who live in that area and fund that service on the main street,” Stevenson argued.

But her motion that would have made the funding conditional on The Ark moving its drop-in service off the main street of the BIA fell short of the required eight votes.

Following a long and meandering debate that at times became bogged down in procedural matters, a majority of council supported redirecting the funding back to The Ark.

After the meeting, Mayor Josh Morgan acknowledged the concerns raised by many OEV residents and business owners, “It’s a challenging situation, we recognize that, but we also need to provide services for those who need them. And this is a continuation of some day drop-in service.”

“There is work to be done, and we will continue to work with Civic Administration and Council to see what options may exist,” explained The Ark’s Executive Director Sarah Campbell. “But in the meantime, I’m grateful that the one door that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week in our city, will continue to be open to some capacity.”

It’s a significant reversal from Feb. 11, when council pursued a sweeping change to its homelessness strategy by focusing federal funds on overnight beds.

City staff were directed to examine options for redirecting funds away from Ark Aid Street Mission’s daytime drop-in spaces and instead ask other local shelters if they could use the funding to operate additional overnight beds.

The effort yielded only an extension to 16 beds at the Salvation Army Centre of Hope.

According to Campbell, receiving the remaining $611,000 will force a reduction in the daytime program unless The Ark can cover the shortfall with private donations.

She adds that The Ark remains open to relocating daytime drop-in services away from the building it owns in the Old East Village BIA, but a pair of challenges stand in the way.

“It’s difficult to find a place to serve [homeless Londoners], so that’s one challenge,” she explained. “The second is that without consistent funding to operate, we can’t make a guarantee to take on the liability of a lease or a purchase.”

“I think the city will try to assist in any way that we can,” said Morgan about relocating The Ark’s drop-in service, “We certainly can’t be a realtor for an outside organization, but I know our staff and I know members of council would be ready to assist the organization in transitioning to other spaces that may take the burden off that part of the city.”