A former Stratford radio personality and part-time cab driver took to social media recently to express his concerns about homelessness and the absence of a shelter in the Festival City.
Rob Wreford, who was an on-air member of CJCS decades ago and was born and raised here, posted a two-and-a-half-minute, heartfelt video on Facebook where he explained the problem is getting worse.
“Part of my job is to respond to requests from our city’s social services to drive the unhoused out of town, sometimes as far away as places like Owen Sound or Hamilton,” he explained.
“There’s no homeless shelter in Stratford and the choice is either couch surfing, a warm vestibule or maybe a tent on the edge of town or if you’re lucky, a room at one of the motels that are contracted to social service agencies.”
What motivated Wreford to post the video was a recent ride where he drove an old high school friend and a homeless woman out of town a few weeks ago.
“That’s when it really hit home. I want to ask you this. If Stratford faced a natural disaster that put people out of their homes, the city would be the first to set up temporary emergency accommodation. When it comes to the homeless, are they somehow less deserving?”
Stratford Coun. Geza Wordofa is bringing a motion to council at the first regular meeting in September to use the Stratford Rotary Complex as an emergency shelter during the colder months of the year.
“Geza has worked in refugee camps across Africa and the Middle East and has seen human suffering firsthand, so it’s not surprising he’s the only councillor speaking out about this issue. Yeah, there will be the inevitable NIMBY response, not in my backyard. What about other users, what about showers, what about, what about,” added Wreford, who is encouraging the community to attend the council meeting to support the motion.
Coun. Larry McCabe said he was not aware of cabs transporting homeless people from Stratford to other municipalities and added the issue itself is getting worse locally.
“The responsibility for homelessness is supposed to be on the provincial level, yet municipalities (in Ontario) spent $2.1 billion on this last year. With budgets pressured by the growing costs of infrastructure, our shelter system is clearly inadequate.
“I have found the growth of the problem here pretty shocking and concerning. On a human level, it shows a failure at the community level to insist on action. It is interesting to hear Rob’s perspective as a cabbie.”
McCabe said he is looking forward to a healthy debate at council on Sept. 8.
“What I would say is that I think it is worth having a discussion. This issue is unlikely to be solved by relocating individuals who often require more support than we can provide. The statistics are pretty dire.
“300,000 homeless in Ontario in 10 years, from 80,000 today. Whether the Rotary Complex is a good fit, I certainly have some reservations and hopefully we will get some ideas from staff about what this could look like.”
He added there are risks in using a community facility where children and seniors are congregating.
“There are real mental health issues being experienced by the homeless population that can’t be glossed over.”
MyStratfordNow reached out to Wreford, who said people have reached out to him to tell him just how close they are to living on the streets.
“A lot of people are one paycheque away from being homeless. Perhaps they can’t make the rent, can’t make the mortgage payment, or they’ve lost their job. I think we are in for some hard times for the next little while. People are facing a lot of problems and it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.”
He added the Rotary Complex may not be the ideal location, but at least a conversation to help those in need is starting.
“At least we open up discussion here in Stratford about what we’re going to do. It may not be the Rotary Complex, but we’ve got to do something.”
Wreford added some homeless people are hurling profanity at locals and visitors, something he said is not good for the tourism industry in the city.
He concluded the video with one last thought.
“Driving my homeless high school buddy the other night reminded me that homelessness does not discriminate. It can impact anyone. Even you.”
