Jerry Acchione, Mayor of Woodstock. (City of Woodstock photo).
Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
It is a decades-old tradition for politicians to sit down with journalists for year-end fireside chats to talk about the year that was and the year that is to be. While there isn’t a fireplace in Woodstock Mayor Jerry Acchione’s office at city hall on Dundas Street, he was gracious enough to spend some time with the Echo recently.
Much of the conversation centred around homelessness and the issues of mental health and drug addiction which all go hand-in-hand and continues to be the single most talked about file in the city. The Woodstock Hospital recently made an application with the provincial government to bring a Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub (HART) to the city. Woodstock was not named in the first round of announcements but Acchione is confident the second round will provide good news.
“The application process has gone well. No questions were asked by the government that I am aware of so that is always a great indicator. The Woodstock Hospital has been fantastic in going ahead and making sure the process has been seamless.”
The annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) is being held in Toronto from Jan. 19 to Jan. 21 where Acchione and other elected officials will be meeting with Associate Minister of Health and Addictions Michael Tibollo for an update on the application.
“It would be a great thing for the city. It’s that transition piece we do not have. The closest one is in London are there are only seven beds and we never get access out of Oxford County. Having something here to help our own residents will be fantastic.”
Homeless encampments in Woodstock continue to be an issue for some residents. The Echo has received reports of one person living on city property using a generator 24 hours a day. The growing structure is just behind one city woman’s backyard and has been there for close to two years. Another encampment recently saw power tools being used to erect a permanent structure. Acchione said complaints from city residents haven’t increased, but they are consistent.
“I assure you, nobody drives around the city more than me and I have been in every single encampment and talked to the people living in them multiple times. It’s not illegal to be homeless. In terms of structures, just because it’s not the way you and I would live doesn’t mean somebody doesn’t want a roof over their head.”
He added the push for more funding and resources from the provincial and federal governments needs to continue to get people off the streets.
“We are not structured as a municipality to help the homeless in the way they need help, plain and simple. That was the biggest reason I pushed so hard to have our nearly $2 million from the Building Faster Fund towards a homeless shelter. We need to get rid of the barriers so more people are willing to go into the shelter system.”
A plan for what that shelter will look like will be coming to Oxford County Council in the near future. Acchione explained once a homeless person enters the transitional system, the likelihood of them getting out of their situation is significantly greater than living in the bush.
“What I don’t want to happen is them being pushed so far into a forest that we can’t ensure their health and safety and get the basics they need because they are ostracized from the general public.”
One concern among many city residents is alleged theft by the homeless. Woodstock Police tell the Echo they are closely monitoring reports linked to homeless people as part of ongoing community safety efforts and efforts to look at the root cause.
Registered homeless people receive a monthly street allowance, something Acchione said is often pooled together to purchase bigger ticket items.
“Many of them do save together. I hate to assume it may be a stolen generator. If it is, when the police unfortunately get called to these sites, they are going to look at things, take photos and compare with notes of what’s been stolen in the area. Have they found stolen items, yes, they have.”
Acchione said it’s wrong to assume items like a generator were not store-bought.
“If there were easy answers it would have been fixed a long time ago. With the cost of living today, we are all feeling it. We all pay a few hundred dollars more at the grocery store and when someone is even part of the working poor, a couple hundred bucks is the difference between having a home, or not.”
He added the stories of many of Woodstock’s homeless are quite sad.
“Hearing where they come from, what they have had to go through. They are choosing to live outside when it’s minus-20. If that doesn’t give someone a reason to pause and think that this is the best for them, they feel, then ask why.”
The mayor said he has had many families in his office to talk about their family members living in the streets.
Part two of our interview with the mayor will be in the Jan. 31 version of the Echo. Issues such as development and the 2025 budget will be included.
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