Safe, Supported Communities
A safe community is built through more than enforcement alone. It comes from stability, connection, and making sure people have access to the supports they need before situations reach a crisis point.
Across Oshawa, and especially in Ward 4, residents are seeing the effects of rising housing costs, increasing homelessness, mental health and addiction challenges, and gaps in access to services. These issues are connected, and they require coordinated, practical responses that bring together the City, Region, service providers, businesses, and community organizations.
Housing is a major part of community safety. When people have stable housing, including affordable and supportive housing options, it creates better outcomes not only for individuals and families, but for the broader community as well. Supportive housing, mental health supports, addiction services, and community outreach all play an important role in helping people find stability and reducing pressures that affect neighbourhoods and public spaces.
Safe Communities Through Collaboration
Everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighbourhood. That means feeling safe walking downtown, supporting local businesses, accessing parks and public spaces, and knowing that people experiencing crisis are connected to the help they need.
Creating safer communities isn't about choosing between public safety and compassion. It requires both.
Stop Working in Silos
One of the central commitments of my platform is to stop working in silos.
Housing, homelessness, mental health, addictions and community safety are all connected, yet they're often addressed separately by different organizations with different responsibilities, funding sources and priorities. When systems don't work together, people fall through the cracks, resources aren't used as effectively as they could be, and communities don't get the results they deserve.
As a City Councillor, I'll work to bring together the City of Oshawa, Durham Region, Durham Regional Police, health care providers, housing providers, community agencies, businesses and residents to build coordinated solutions instead of isolated ones.
The Reality in Durham Region
The need for a more coordinated approach is clear.
Durham Region's 2024 Point-in-Time Count identified 1,345 people experiencing homelessness, a 134% increase since 2021. The Region also reports that more than 400 people are on its By-Name List, while acknowledging that this represents only those who are connected to services and is therefore an undercount. More than half of the people counted during the Point-in-Time Count were in Oshawa, meaning our city is carrying a disproportionate share of the Region's homelessness challenge.
At the same time, there is no single public source that tells us how many people are waiting for supportive housing, how long those waits are, or how many people are waiting for mental health or addiction treatment across all providers. That information exists across multiple organizations, making it difficult to see the whole picture, identify gaps and measure outcomes.
We Don't Have to Start From Scratch
Communities across Canada have shown that coordinated, evidence-based approaches can make a real difference.
Medicine Hat, Alberta became the first Canadian community to achieve functional zero chronic homelessness.
London, Ontario became the first Canadian community to achieve functional zero veteran homelessness.
St. Thomas–Elgin has also achieved functional zero veteran homelessness while making measurable progress in reducing chronic homelessness.
Communities including Brantford–Brant, Hamilton, Kingston, Niagara, Waterloo, Wellington–Guelph, York Region, Edmonton, Red Deer and St. John's are all using the same collaborative, data-driven approach to improve outcomes.
Durham Region is already a participant in Built for Zero Canada and receives significant federal, provincial and regional funding to address homelessness. That means the question isn't simply whether programs or funding exist.
The questions we should be asking are:
How effectively is that funding being coordinated?
Where is it being spent?
What outcomes is it producing?
Is Oshawa receiving a level of investment that reflects the number of people experiencing homelessness in our community?
Those are the questions I will ask as your City Councillor.
My Commitment
Will we ever eliminate homelessness, mental illness or addiction entirely? No. These are complex challenges that every community will continue to face.
But good leadership builds systems that manage those challenges more effectively.
That means bringing the right partners to the table, sharing information, measuring results, learning from what works, and continually improving how we respond.
I'll advocate for:
Stronger coordination between the City of Oshawa, Durham Region and community partners.
Better public reporting so residents understand where resources are going and what results they're achieving.
A full spectrum of housing options, including market housing, affordable housing, rent-geared-to-income housing and supportive housing with wraparound mental health and addiction services.
Community safety strategies that support residents, businesses and vulnerable people while addressing the root causes of chronic homelessness.
Leadership that brings people together to solve problems instead of leaving organizations to work in silos.
Safe communities are built through collaboration, accountability and evidence-based decision-making. That's the approach I'll bring to Oshawa City Council.