KDSB Draft Report Tackles Several Issues

17 recommendations are contained in a draft report on solving the homelessness and housing problem in the Kenora District.
The Services Board received the report at an open meeting on Thursday.
There was considerable debate on how to solve the homeless issue, especially in Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Kenora.
Director of Integrated Social Services Dianne Apland says one recommendation is the creation of a Managed Alcohol program.
The program would help individuals who have received treatment and it hasn’t worked.
Kenora would serve as the pilot for the first year.
They would be put in a supervised and managed setting and have alcohol administered to them at certain times a day.
The initiative is aimed at helping them curb the use of other substance abuse.
Sioux Lookout Mayor Dennis Leney says this is not the way to go.
Leney says there’s a section in the Liquor Licence Act where people that have a problem with alcohol can be sentenced by the courts for specific periods of time to treat the addiction.
He notes there are 21 beds at the Kenora District Jail that aren’t being used.
Leney also notes that a majority of the homeless population in his community have homes in northern communities and stresses the KDSB must work with First Nations on addressing the homeless issue.
Dryden Councilor Brian Collins noted that the homeless issue impacts everyone and that several youth in the area are without a home.
Other recommendations in the draft report include the continuation of funding for homeless shelters in Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Kenora.
The report outlines the need for affordable housing units for seniors and others across the district as well as the establishment of transitional housing.
A need for additional handicapped accessible units was also cited.
Apland notes it also calls for more cooperation between various agencies across the Kenora district.
A key recommendation for Dryden is the establishment of an emergency shelter in the community.
Staff will now fine-tune the report and a final document is expected to be presented to the KDSB in December.