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An annual report presented to the United Counties of SDG on June 21 showed the top issues some individuals and families face within SDG and Cornwall.
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The Situation Table is a collaboration that monitors individuals who access multiple services in Cornwall and SDG or are at an elevated risk of certain consequences. Dozens of organizations, including the Children’s Aid Society, Cornwall Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, Cornwall Community Hospital, and the Canadian Mental Health Association share information with one another in order to improve response times for crises within Cornwall, SDG, and Akwesasne.
“All table members continue to address the complex needs of the most vulnerable within our community,” said Cathy Cooper, a rotating chair of the Situation Table, in the report.
The most common situations with elevated risk were child involved, or domestic violence with 10 incidences in 2020. The second most common was risk of losing housing, or unsafe living conditions, with eight incidences.
“One of the most challenging needs, which should be an easy fix, is often the immediate need for short- and long-term housing,” said Cooper in the report.
Although the issue was second in 2020, there are almost as many incidences reported in the first five months of 2021 as there were all of last year. As of May, there were nine situations where the person or family risked losing their housing or were in unsafe conditions, and eight child-involved situations. Homelessness is the third most common, with six situations considered by the group this year.
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“We must find a better way to track available affordable housing so that our community members feel safe and warm as they work on their long-term personal goals,” said Cooper.
The report shows housing issues are being taken more seriously. Every year, the table identifies and weighs certain risk factors for consideration, and lists the top five. For the first time since the group was created in 2017, housing was listed this year, coming in at No. 5. Mental health has held the top spot of concern every single year.
From May 2020 to May 2021, there were 133 total situations considered by the table. One hundred and twenty-three of those were deemed to have acutely elevated risks for serious consequences, but 102 of those had their risks lowered. Ten situations were rejected, although six of those were later reopened. The group has a much quicker response time than most mental health or housing organizations alone, with an average of within eight days of discussion time.
For the first time, a user of the services was reported to identify with an ‘X’ gender. Last year, more men than women who reported their gender used the service, with one person who identified as ‘X.’
The report noted that 83.6 per cent of the situations considered by the table members led to improvements for the people involved.
Housing appears in top-five problems for Cornwall-based Situation Table - Standard Freeholder
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