WE See Them.
WE See Them.
The full explanation lives here now — so the homepage can stay focused on the quiz. The content below keeps the original advocacy message, evidence, local data, and calls to action.
We used to drill into skulls to treat mental illness. They got quiet. It was decisive and expensive. We stopped when research exposed the harm — and offered solutions that actually work: psychotherapy, medication, empathy...
Decades of peer-reviewed evidence shows us what ends homelessness and what harm is caused by forced evictions. So why is our government still reaching for the drill?
"It is possible to be good people and improve the downtown core."
Address the underlying causes of homelessness — and the encampments will go away. For good.
These are the key drivers behind rising homelessness and visible encampments in Windsor-Essex.
You've said it yourself: "I don't know how people are living these days." They aren't.
Over half of the people in Windsor's encampments had a home three years ago. They are the ones destabilized by sharp rent increases and strict rental application criteria that we've all watched evolve — credit and rental history harmed by that destabilization, only to be turned away over and over again when they tried to re-enter the housing market. They didn't fall through the cracks. The floor gave out.
"Clearing encampments is incredibly harmful and traumatic — and it does not get people housed."
Strongly supported by credible sources and years of research — including the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Housing First evidence, and encampment studies across North America.
"There is no compassionate and respectful way to violate human rights."
They are our most vulnerable neighbours. The ones who suddenly disappeared from next door. The disabled, the elderly, the injured, the traumatized, the profoundly lonely — and yes, the ones relying on drugs to cope with unimaginable pain and hopelessness. I would too. This is what human beings do when they must adapt to hopelessness while waiting 5–10 years on a housing waitlist — and someone just missed the only call they will get because their phone was lost in the last clearing.
We demonize them because it's easier to witness someone's pain when they are bad. And it's easier to allow those in charge to harm them when we feel the bad guys deserve it. But ask yourself: who benefits most from that narrative? Your yards continue to be taken over. Neighbours without homes continue to be stuck. And our leaders are wasting money throwing band aids on the issue because it is easier and quicker — to shut us up while they focus on other things. Encampments are not a moral failure. They are a symptom — of allowing the underlying causes of homelessness to go unaddressed for years.
If someone is doing drugs, it is for a good reason — the distress is beyond the capacity for any human to cope. And not having a home, being blamed for failing every attempt to get out of it, having to adapt to the reality that you may never get out? Ya... I'd do drugs too. You probably would too, be honest. No amount of "healthy" coping skills can handle that amount of pain and suffering.
This is why treatment-first models — like that of the HART Hub — are considered outdated. It has been widely shown to actually increase cycling through shelters, hospitals, and the justice system; exclude the most vulnerable; and reduce long-term stability. It becomes a more expensive program with much poorer outcomes.
Every credible model of addiction recovery is built on one foundation: stability. Housing First is one of the strongest evidence bases in homelessness policy. It has been shown to significantly improve housing stability, reduce ER visits, shelter costs, hospitalizations, use of crisis services, and justice involvement — even for people with severe mental illness and active substance use. Canadian research shows 70–80% housing retention in high-needs populations.
WHY AREN'T WE USING THE APPROACHES THAT WORK?
Housing is not the reward for getting better — it is the condition that makes getting better possible.
These are the people our programs can't help. Housing workers can't wave a magic wand to decrease rent or remove strict rental criteria. Neither does clearing an encampment. Every clearance sets people back months — years, even. It doesn't move them forward. It moves them further away from the door that was already barely open.
ID and important documents — along with sentimental items, and a single photo remaining of a gentleman's deceased wife — lost to the big green bin because they "aren't allowed here." But if I tried to fit all of my belongings within the space of a tent, I'd be encroaching too. Outreach workers who spent months building trust suddenly can't find them. Somewhere, a family member stops knowing where they are — or whether they're alive. They are not housed. They are just hidden.
Force them to fix it — demand they clear our yards and parks. But insist they come with a housing offer.
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Reduction in long-term homelessness in 7 years. Helsinki converted shelter beds from 2,121 to just 52 — by turning shelters into real housing. Savings of €15,000 per person per year in reduced ER visits, policing, and justice costs.
Cost per person permanently housed through a private landlord partnership program. $1M total, 160+ people housed. Signing bonuses, damage guarantees, and a caseworker for every tenant. Only 3–5% of landlords ever needed to claim from the damage fund.
What Ontario spends per person per year in emergency shelter — confirmed by the Toronto Auditor General at ~$136/night. Money spent annually with zero return. The Salvation Army Centre of Hope already runs 24 supported housing units here. The model works. It just needs funding.
Windsor's vacancy rate is the highest it's been in years. The buildings exist. The staff exist. The evidence exists. What's missing is you.
Message Government NowTell municipal, provincial, and federal officials that Windsor needs housing solutions — not displacement.
Send a message in 2 minutes →A short version for readers who want the main points before moving to the full FAQ.
Because people are being pushed out of housing faster than the system can move them back in: rent increases, years-long housing waitlists, strict rental screening, inadequate income supports, and lack of deeply affordable options.
Shelters are emergency responses, not permanent homes. They often cannot provide privacy, storage, stability, pets, couples staying together, or the secure base people need while waiting years for housing.
Stop displacement-only responses and fund housing-focused solutions: Housing First, landlord partnerships, rent supplements, damage/risk mitigation, and voluntary supports after housing placement.