Fixing our broken society

Oshawa has historically been a caring and giving City. Our large blue collar workforce at that time was a driving force that supported those less fortunate. That is not something we need to apologize for.

Over the years, the need has grown while the blue collar support network has dwindled.

Since Regional amalgamation, Oshawa continued to be the supporting lower tier municipality at an unequal level to other lakeshore municipalities.

The Global pandemic known as Covid greatly influenced the growth of the marginalized community and we have effectively failed to act in a positive manner to support this community.

While the Region and lakeshore municipalities have begun to step up their own supports, we continue to experience unprecedented growth in homelessness, addiction, and mental health sufferers.

The influence of the Safe Supply network that began on the west coast has created an industry that supports drug use over rehabilitation. I understand their ‘mandate’ to keep people alive but disagree that it is helping SOLVE the problem.

Recently the provincial government has changed their focus from Safe Supply to Recovery, and with that new focus has funded a HARTHub for Oshawa. I hope this is a step in the right direction.

CMHA is the lead agency responsible for the HARTHub operation and is also the lead agency in Mission United at Back Door Mission at the historic Simcoe St. United Church.

Sometimes it seems that contradictory policies are competing for funding and the funding trumps the effective programming.

Emphasis is also being placed on Housing First, but it is tied predominantly to the addicted community and often bypasses the homeless community that isn’t addicted.

In Oshawa, we have a long association with Pinewood Addiction Centre, but a limited number of recovery beds are available.

Oshawa also has a relatively new program operating as Redemption House of Recovery (RHOR), utilizing a group home style housing and recovery program, which appears to be making very positive steps to sobriety, recovery, and transitional housing.

“Redemption House of Recovery offers 2 pre-treatment houses and 3 post-treatment houses in the Oshawa /Durham region to help men and women who are struggling with addictions to find a new start in life.”

RHOR claims about 40 clients in their program at present, including pre and post treatment, in treatment, and transitional housing. A positive step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. Transitional and supportive housing are in shortage as well as career opportunities such as a trade.

I have had two very informative meetings with Back Door Mission who has a new Executive Director and new Board of Directors.

I had a great introductory conversation with Daniel Cullen of the Gap Committee.

I have a scheduled meeting with CMHA and the HART Hub.

I have started conversations with RHOR and hope to take a tour and learn more in the near future.

I have had a very interesting conversation with Belleville’s Mayor, Neil Ellis, where we discussed his declaration of Emergency on Homelessness and the resulting $4M from the Federal government to assist in their plan to combat homelessness.

I have had many conversations with downtown residents and businesses about the community effects of homelessness, addiction, and the mentally unwell in our community.

I live downtown, and have had many conversations with the homeless themselves, including some suffering from addiction and mental health crisis.

But I still don’t have the answer.

But here is something I believe.

This Council has failed to actively search out effective solutions.

Under this Council, the situation has become noticeably worse in our community.

Not only have the numbers of our marginalized community grown, but so have the adverse effects associated with those increased numbers.

• Our downtown has a heightened safety risk and negative perception.

• Petty and personal crimes are on the rise.

• Bodily crimes, assaults and assaults with a weapon are increasing.

• Open drug use is rampant in our downtown streets, parks, and public spaces.

• Emergency resources are being stretched to the max responding to drug, overdose, petty crime calls.

• Community health and safety are being negatively affected by drug paraphernalia, biohazards, garbage, and vandalism.

Due to the inaction or ineffective action of this Council, many of these issues are spreading beyond the downtown and into neighbourhoods formerly considered safe and protected from these effects.

Oshawa’s historically compassionate society has reached its breaking point.

While many of these issues are technically beyond the mandate of the City and Council, the effects are real and require action by the City.

Funding for homelessness, addiction, and mental health are predominantly grouped together under health issues. The bulk of the funding is tied to addiction and mental health services, and often the homeless are left high and dry.

This Venn Diagram lacks the data to be accurate but is illustrative of the three groups being funded under one umbrella.

Housing First only works with Set A in green. However, it is a necessary approach that will show immediate positive outcomes, reducing the number of homeless individuals in our community, giving them stability and hope, and protecting them from slipping into the yellow and red areas of multiple social issues.

To make that positive impact, we need a Council that can and will work with developers to create mandatory affordable housing in every new apartment or development project. We could tie that mandatory affordable housing to the CIP grants we already have in place, including the Downtown Urban Growth Area that offers ZERO Development Charges. Those agreements should also include ‘sundown clauses’ that guarantee shovels in the ground and project completions on a schedule, tied to the benefits of the CIP plans. Failure to meet the sundown date eliminates the incentives!

Prior to Housing First for the Set B and Set C groups, those individuals must first meet certain criteria tied to healthy choices, including detox and rehab and appropriate mental health programs with measurable progress. This is very similar to the RHOR program which is apparently showing an 80% success rate!

Our new Council must advocate loudly and strongly for provincial and federal investments in addiction rehabilitation beds and programs and increased mental health supports.

However, our Council must also work with the Region, developers, and the province to advance the supply of affordable housing, transitional housing, supportive housing, and deeply affordable or subsidized housing. Some of this can be accomplished through the above-mentioned CIP programs, some of it will require zoning and by-law changes, but we MUST make a concerted effort, or we will never make improvements.

We can’t continue to expect gentrification style development will magically improve the situation.

We need to elect a new council that doesn’t have their heads firmly planted in… the sand.

Step 1 is an immediate declaration of Emergency on Homelessness. This puts necessary and severe pressure on the provincial and federal governments to take decisive action and provide funding to support a made in Oshawa response.

Step 2 is an increase in affordable and deeply affordable housing. Make no mistake, that has a taxpayer effect for subsidized housing. But the time is NOW.

Step 3 is to continue to increase that housing supply while working with the province, federal government, and private and publicly funded enterprises like RHOR to increase rehabilitation beds and services and mental health supports.

Step 4 is to advocate for Provincial and Federal programs that effectively deal with the yellow and red zones of the Venn Diagram. This will be the most difficult work, take the longest, and requires everyone to come together at the table. Our new Council can be the conduit to bringing them together and providing positive change for our community.

This made in Oshawa solution could become the case study for all of Canada. Real leadership on display.

While all of this is happening, we need education that keeps our future generations from falling into the same traps. Our education systems, public, private and post secondary, need to take leading roles. Our educators and teachers’ unions need to buy into and teach appropriate life skills and educate on the harms of addiction and mental health.

Harm reduction would continue to be a part of the total solution, but the focus away from harm reduction towards recovery is already happening.

These aren’t easy steps. And they don’t magically solve the problems, but they are the necessary steps to combating homelessness, addiction, mental health in our City, and are essential to show progress.

Investments in housing and appropriate supports for addiction and mental health will free up resources in our first responders, health care, policing, and many municipal programs. It will help to reduce pressures to increase funding for those programs and departments that are currently dealing only with the effects, and not the causes.

Even the incumbents are admitting that current practices aren’t working, but they still haven’t provided an alternative.

And that is why we need new voices, new ideas on the next Council.

Jeff Davis

Candidate for Regional and City Council, Ward 4 Oshawa

August 27, 2026