A new dedicated hotline has been launched in an effort to address homelessness concerns in Sarnia.
Police Chief Derek Davis said the police service and city bylaw team have been working on the new AI hotline for the last several months.
He said calls will be appropriately assigned to either police, bylaw enforcement, or another local agency depending on the nature of the call, which can range from a well-being check to reports of an encampment.
With the encampment at Rainbow Park now vacated, Davis said they're getting calls about one or two people in different spots across the city.
"So the problem has really dispersed across the city which creates a lot of calls," said Davis. "Those calls come from all different directions. We get e-mails, e-mails to city council, e-mails to city staff, so the objective here really is to have a central point of contact for our residents to report those issues in one place."
The new reporting service will also act as a helpline for those affected by homelessness and addiction.
"So if you were to pick up the phone and you were homeless, you could say I'm looking for a place to stay and it would direct you, forward you to either the Inn or another place and you could have that conversation," said Davis. "That would be diverted from not a police matter, go straight to them, it helps people get to the services they need."
The chief said city police work in partnership with social service agencies, and are not the sole answer to the homelessness problem.
"We are an agency of last resort and we're just trying to provide the policing services our citizens expect, but we also recognize that we're not the answer," said Davis. "So, the goal here is to really coordinate with the other agencies, improve that coordination for the agencies best suited to deal with providing living spaces, social services and medical."
The County of Lambton's Homelessness Prevention and Social Planning Manager Ian Hanney previously stated there are over 1,000 people waiting for community/subsidized housing in Lambton County.
According to the county's website, there are about 300 people on the by-name list, which is a real-time, person specific list of individuals experiencing homelessness.
The new AI hotline will operate 24/7 and can be reached at 519-346-4663 or 346-HOME.
Police said it's for non-urgent matters, and does not replace 911 in the event of an emergency.
