In previous episodes, we examined the City of Hamilton's flirtation with the Tiny Shelters project—a collection of shed-sized shelters with heat and power for the homeless to get back on their feet. However, the project has bordered on failing for the better part of last year. Hamilton City Council has yet to build support for the project and find a suitable location.
In the meantime, homelessness has continued to grow. Tent encampments are becoming increasingly common in Hamilton's parks and streets. It is becoming a crisis. In response, Hamiltonians look to their leaders for answers and plan to tackle this issue. To that end, Mayor Andrea Horwath has remained silent mostly on the file, failing to take leadership on the HATS project and refusing to declare a plan of action to address the encampments in parks. Mayor Horwath hasn't been visible on numerous issues facing Hamilton. The city is starting to notice, that their Mayor doesn't seem to take the lead on anything of importance at Hamilton City Hall.
One critic of the Mayor's lack of leadership is a long-time friend of the podcast, Laura Babcock. Laura has been especially critical of the Mayor's absence on the homelessness file. As well Laura has a unique perspective on the matter, having been volunteering with the homeless in Gore Park, getting to know the families, individuals and volunteers literally on the front lines of this crisis. She gives us her insight on the matter of what is happening on Hamilton's streets. She also helps us answer the question that is on everyone's mind with this crisis...Where's Mayor Horwath?
To volunteer with the Gore Park Outreach visit their website here:
https://goreparkoutreach.ca/
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Nicholas Paul: sound editing.
The Quadrafonics: fantastic opening and closing tunes!
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