Belleville homelessness: more outreach and government support needed

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Belleville needs more proactive approaches to reduce the impact of mental health conditions, addiction, and homelessness, members of a mayoral task force heard Wednesday.

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Mayor Neil Ellis’ Understanding Homelessness Task Force convened online with guest speakers Lisa Ali and Ashley Vader of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA, Sheila Braidek of the Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre, and Deputy Chief Danielle Spitzig of Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services.

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The guests and some task force members alike emphasized the importance of providing more supports before people end up in crises. They said that can both save governments money and result in better outcomes for the people in need.

Lisa Ali, chief executive officer of the CMHA’s Hastings and Prince Edward Counties office, said Ontario’s mental health and addictions system has been “significantly underfunded” for years.

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Ashley Vader, the first director of The Bridge Integrated Care Hub in Belleville and now the CMHA’s new director for housing and homelessness, said further support of people living in encampments could reduce public concerns while also helping those unhoused residents.

She said Quinte West and other communities are more involved with people living in encampments there and it’s an approach she recommends.

Speakers, including Deputy Paramedic Chief Spitzig, said further expansion of the HART Hub’s outreach teams, such as by adding professionals from other disciplines, is worthwhile.

The Belleville Police Service received agencies’ praise for building relationships with people who are unhoused and with the agencies partnered in the area’s Homelessness and Addictions Recovery Treament (HART) Hub project, of which The Bridge is a part.

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Chief Murray Rodd noted three suicides in 2025 of unhoused people and asked how people in crisis could be reached sooner to help avoid further deaths. Ali said her association is working on care plans and those should always include those who fall through gaps in care.

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The CMHA’s Ali said mandatory treatment has been shown to be less effective than other approaches; the Community Health Centre’s Braidek agreed.

Braidek also said systems sometimes fail people when they are discharged from hospitals or other facilities.

“There’s an assumption that’s made that individuals have access to a variety of supports … and often that’s not the case,” said Braidek.

Ali said the mayor’s 2024 declaration of a state of emergency was “the catalyst” in further uniting agencies and municipalities to address common issues.

She said the level of leadership and commitment by city officials and agencies seen here “has been unheard of in other communities,” which as a result are “not nearly” as far along the path of tackling those situations as this area is. She and others said it’s foundation upon which the community must keep building.

Full story to come.

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