A petition calling for a permanent shelter for the unhoused in North Hastings has been launched by local advocates, citing worsening conditions and inadequate, temporary solutions.
The petition was started by Canadian Peace Museum president Chris Houston, following a community meeting at Bancroft’s Anglican Church with those who have been supporting the unhoused in the area.
“In North Hastings, the rate of homelessness is above the national average and it’s double the average for Hastings County,” says Houston.
“There’s a greater percentage of homeless people in a place that is colder, in a place that has fewer services and a place that has a really limited public transit infrastructure.”
Houston notes that even in places where the rates of homelessness are lower, there are permanent shelters.
“It seems like it’s a second-class approach to the north… to me, it’s not acceptable.”
The petition notes the continued use of temporary trailers to deliver critical shelter services — a practice that Houston says falls far short of basic dignity.
“I can’t think of any other group that gets their services via trailer. If you think of the hospitals or schools, it’s totally normal to give services in buildings — and somehow our homeless neighbours are the only group of people I can think of that are expected to get life-saving services delivered to them in a trailer.”
The open letter in the petition is addressed to the Hastings County Council, North Hastings Safety and Wellness Committee, and councils representing Bancroft and surrounding townships, including Hastings Highlands, Carlow/Mayo, Faraday and Wollaston.
“It would be great if the leaders of all the municipalities in the north supported this,” says Houston, “because what happens is, a lot of the people that are homeless, they come to Bancroft as a sort of de facto hub. And Bancroft needs the support of all the municipalities.”
The letter echoes the calls made by the Meals for the Unhoused organization and points to alarming statistics: North Hastings recorded 41 people without housing in the county’s most recent homelessness enumeration — a rate more than double the county average.
The trailer currently serving as the Bancroft warming centre hosted 54 people over the 2024–25 winter season. While some officials have cited this as low usage, and a reason not to grant more funding, supporters say that the trailer itself — not the need — is the issue.
“It wasn’t underused because people don’t need it. It was underused because it lacked dignity, comfort and basic facilities,” Houston said. “The fact that it’s underused is not a reason to stop doing it — it’s a reason to do it better.”
Houston summed up the unique challenges to the unhoused in the north.
“They should at least give the people of North Hastings the same level of service that they’ve given the rest of Hastings County. At least. But probably more, because the needs are higher, the place is colder and the level of services is inferior.”
The petition also cites a doubling in meal service demand at the North Hastings Community Cupboard Foodbank over the past two years as evidence of rising need, echoing Hastings County’s own recent admission that homelessness and poverty levels in the region are “alarming.”
Advocates are urging residents across North Hastings to sign and share the petition widely.
So far, more than 300 people have signed.
You can find the petition here.
