Squeegee Diversion Strategy for

Street-Involved Homeless Youth

The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (May 3, 1999) from the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services, subject to:

(a) adding the following new Recommendation No. (4):

"(4)discussions be initiated with the Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board and the Chief of Police to look at innovative ideas to deal with the squeegee diversion strategy that would include, but not be limited to, the use of the auxiliary police wherever possible;" and

(b)renumbering the original Recommendation No. (4) accordingly:

Purpose:

To inform Council of the progress in implementing the integrated service model for homeless street-involved youth, and to recommend that Council approve the Department entering into contracts with Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) for federal funding and with the consortium of agencies implementing the service model. The report also summarizes what other cities across Canada have done to respond to the squeegee issue.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

In November, Council pre-approved funding of $250,000.00 to begin implementing the service model proposed in the October 22, 1998, report to the joint Community and Neighbourhood Services and Emergency and Protective Services Committee meeting. Council also requested the Federal and Provincial Governments to provide $250,000.00 each toward the model. The Federal Government, through HRDC, has agreed to flow $395,000.00 for one year to develop and pilot the service model. This report seeks Council's approval to enter into the contract with HRDC for $395,000.00.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1) Council continue to urge the Provincial Government to immediately introduce enforcement legislation which will effectively deter squeegeeing;

(2)Council approve the Community and Neighbourhood Services Department entering into contracts with HRDC for federal funding of $395,000.00 to be applied to the service model for homeless street-involved youth;

(3)Council approve the City entering into a contract with the consortium of community-based agencies led by Youthlink to implement the service delivery model for homeless street-involved youth, including the HRDC contribution, beginning June 1999 for a one-year period; and

(4)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

Council Reference/Background/History:

At the City Council meeting held on July 29, 30 and 31, 1998, Council considered Clause No. 2 of Report No. 7 of The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee, headed "Diversion Strategies for Youth Involved in the Squeegee Trade," together with Clause No. 1 of Report No. 8 of The Emergency and Protective Services Committee, headed "Proposed By-laws to Regulate Panhandling and Squeegee Activities".

Council was advised that the municipality was limited in its ability to regulate panhandling or squeegeeing using municipal by-laws and ran the risk of the municipality facing court challenges under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Both the Federal and Provincial Governments announced publicly that they would be willing to act on this issue and provide the necessary enforcement tools to ban squeegeeing. It was suggested at that time that a possible enforcement solution was banning squeegeeing under the Highways Traffic Act.

On the basis of this information, Council requested a report be brought forward to a joint meeting of the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee and the Emergency and Protective Services Committee outlining any Federal and Provincial Government responses to the request for legislation and describing any specific diversion strategies the municipality should consider to target street-involved homeless youth.

At the time of the Council meeting on November 25, 26, and 27, 1998, the Provincial Government had not introduced the anticipated changes to the Highways Traffic Act that would ban squeegeeing. In the absence of any changes to provincial legislation, the only enforcement tools available continue to be the police curtailing any inappropriate behaviours.

Recognizing that enforcement is only one part of the solution, Toronto Council pre-approved $250,000.00 in funding to develop and support an integrated service model for homeless street-involved youth not currently served by the existing system. Council directed the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services to identify, through a request for proposals, a consortium of community-based agencies that had the capacity to develop a service model that builds on existing programs, fill service gaps, and combines stabilization, transitional pre-employment training, and specialized training initiatives in one program. Council also requested the Federal and Provincial Governments to provide $250,000.00 each to develop a service delivery model for youth that squeegee. Finally, the Chief Administrative Officer was requested to report back to the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee outlining initiatives taken by other cities to deal with the squeegee issue.

The purpose of this report is to update Council on the progress the Department has made in: identifying a consortium of community-based agencies to implement the strategy; in securing funding from the senior levels of government; and to seek Council's approval to enter into an agreement with consortium. As well, an update of the initiatives other cities have taken to deter squeegeeing is provided in Appendix A.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

Implementation of the Service Model:

In October, the Community and Neighbourhood Services Department provided an analysis of youth who tend to be involved in squeegeeing, what range of needs they have, and how the current service system responds to meet those needs. In summary, the report identified that the majority of people involved in squeegeeing are under the age of 24. They tend to be just one group of highly vulnerable street-involved, homeless youth who do not have permanent shelter, and often have complex personal issues. Many of these youth squeegee to meet their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter.

While there are a number of agencies providing services to street-involved homeless youth, the services are not co-ordinated and there is no single point of access to the range of supports required by the youth. Additionally, outside of the Metro Youth Job Corps program, there is no other program that incorporates both stabilization supports and employment experience.

The service model adopted by Council in November responds to the unique needs of this sub-group of homeless street-involved youth. It proposes a single point of access for homeless street-involved youth in both the east and west ends of the City; a new employment training program specifically targeted to address the unmet and complex needs of these youth and to divert youth from squeegeeing; and co-ordination of all the existing and new program elements into one overall program.

In January, the Department entered into negotiations with Human Resources Development Canada because HRDC expressed an interest in participating in this initiative. The Request for Proposal was developed based on the criteria approved by Council in November. HRDC was consulted in developing the RFP, and through that process indicated the areas they would consider funding and an estimated contribution level.

The Request for Proposals was distributed to community-based agencies in mid- March. A review panel of City and HRDC staff was established. Three proposals were received, however, only one proposal met the criteria established in the RFP. The successful proposal was submitted by a consortium of agencies led by Youthlink and including All-A-Board Youth Ventures, Evergreen Centre for Street Youth, Foodshare, Harbourfront Community Centre, KYTES, Parkdale Community Health Centre, Queen West Community Health Centre, Shout Clinic, and St. Christopher House.

City staff and HRDC have had two meetings with the successful consortium to finalize the program model and the budget. On the basis of these meetings, the Community and Neighbourhood Services Department has approved allocating up to $50,000.00 of the pre-approved City funding to the consortium to hire a Program Co-ordinator to refine the program model and begin co-ordinating the program elements. It is expected that the Program Co-ordinator will be in place by mid-May. Council is requested, by way of this report, to approve the City entering into contracts with HRDC to flow the $395,000.00 in federal funding, and to enter into a contract with the consortium. With Council approval for the HRDC funding and the consortium contract, the program can begin by the end of June.

Enforcement Strategies:

The Provincial Government has not yet passed the necessary legislative changes required by municipalities to effectively ban squeegeeing. It is widely anticipated that there will be a provincial election this spring, and although the Progressive Conservative Party has proposed provincial legislation to ban squeegeeing as part of its election platform, it is highly unlikely that the government will introduce this change prior to the election.

In view of this, the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services has initiated discussions with the Police to explore what can be done within existing legislation and by-laws to deter squeegeeing. Anecdotally, the experience from last year indicated that police presence at major intersections in the downtown area had the effect of reducing squeegeeing at those intersections. As well, the City should also restate its request that the Provincial Government immediately introduce amendments to the Highways Traffic Act to ban squeegeeing.

Conclusions:

In response to community concerns about squeegeeing and panhandling, in November 1998, City Council approved $250,000.00 for a service model for street-involved homeless youth and requested the Province to introduce legislation required to ban squeegeeing. Over the winter, the Community and Neighbourhood Services Department has approached other levels of government to provide funding to the service model, and undertaken a process to select a consortium of community-based agencies to pilot the service model. There has been no provincial action taken on enforcement.

With the arrival of spring, there has been an increase in squeegeeing at many major intersections in the City, which is causing frustration among some citizens. To enable the full implementation of the service model to divert street-involved homeless youth from squeegeeing, it is recommended that Council approve the Community and Neighbourhood Services Department entering into contracts with Human Resources Development Canada for funding, and with the consortium of community-based agencies led by Youthlink to pilot the service model.

It is further recommended that Council reiterate its request that the Provincial Government immediately introduce the appropriate legislation to ban squeegeeing. In the absence of any provincial action, the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services will be meeting with the officials from the Police Service to explore what can be done within existing legislation and by-laws to deter squeegeeing.

Contact Name:

Nancy Matthews

Tel: 392-8614

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Appendix A

City of Vancouver and City of Winnipeg Responses to the Squeegee Issue

City of Vancouver:

The City has not introduced any by-laws to deal with the squeegee issue. However, under the Provincial Motor Vehicle Act there is a provision whereby no one is allowed to leave a position of safety like a crosswalk or sidewalk. If anyone steps on the road by leaving a position of safety, they are issued a ticket of $75.00. This is the enforcement mechanism used by the City of Vancouver Police Service to curtail squeegeeing. The Police Service reports that this mechanism is an effective deterrent to squeegeeing.

There is no specific funding provided by the City for diversion strategies aimed specifically at youth who squeegee in the City of Vancouver. City Council adopted Panhandling By-law No. 7885 on April 30, 1998. The by-law was adopted along with the City Manager's recommendations:

"That Council continue to work in collaboration with other government agencies, such as Crown Council, to address both the behaviour (specifically aggressive panhandling), as well as the root causes behind the behaviour, such as the need for food, shelter, and other basic personal needs, as well as the problems of drug and alcohol addictions.

That Council continue working with the Business Improvement Associations, as well as other interested community members, on initiatives to address panhandling, such as Outreach programs and Public Education Campaigns.

That Council continue to support the work of the Mayor's Coalition in Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment, encouraging collaborative partnerships to develop and support programming to address panhandling and its root causes."

City of Winnipeg:

Similar to the City of Toronto, Winnipeg has adopted an approach that combines enforcement with diversion. On May 1, 1998, the City of Winnipeg amended By-law No. 1481/77 by adding the following section:

"2.18Soliciting in a Roadway:

No person shall enter a roadway or occupy a roadway for the purpose of offering the occupant or occupants of vehicles any goods or service, nor shall a person provide any goods or service in a roadway to the occupant or occupants of vehicles in the roadway, provided however, that this Section shall not be construed to render it unlawful for a person to enter a roadway to render assistance where such assistance is deemed necessary due to accident or breakdown."

Winnipeg City Council also adopted the following motion:

"Request the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg to lead an inter-agency working group to examine the so-called "squeegee issue" and make recommendations leading to a reasonable civic strategy which addresses regulation/prohibition, public safety, employment and shared public space."

The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg convened a Squeegee Task Force that submitted a report to Winnipeg City Council in July 1998. In August 1998, Winnipeg's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) provided a review of the Social Planning Council Task Force Report, recommending that the By-law prohibiting soliciting business in a roadway be retained and that the Administration report back on the effectiveness of the by-law and its impacts in August 1999.

The CAO also recommended that the City encourage the community to apply, through the Winnipeg Development Agreement Strategic Initiatives Program 14 and with other supporters, for funds to assist in the development of a comprehensive business plan and feasibility study for a "multi-purpose" opportunity centre (the Powerhouse project). This program model brings together, under one roof, a number of services already dealing with at risk youth including unemployment support, training and education, alcohol and drug abuse counselling and shelter. In addition, the Powerhouse Project has an emphasis on economic sustainability, and provides a mix of alternative employment, youth-oriented retailers, small business incubation and lease/rental space. The expectation is that this revenue would cover a significant part of the operational budget.

The CAO also recommended that the City of Winnipeg encourage and assist the community to apply, through the Winnipeg Development Agreement Strategic Initiatives Program 5C, for funds to establish employment opportunities for youth.

The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee also submits the following communication (May 14, 1999) from Councillor Kyle Rae, Toronto Downtown:

I am writing to express may support for the recommendations contained in agenda Item No. 4 of the May 19, 1999, meeting of your Committee.

Specifically, I am in support of the recommendation that City Council continue to urge the Provincial Government to immediately introduce enforcement legislation that will effectively deter squeegee activities.

More importantly, I believe it is essential that Council support a diversion program. Contracts with HRDC and community-based agencies would see federal money, amongst others, applied to the service model for homeless street-involved youth.

The City has been grappling with the issue of squeegee kids and their actions for many years with limited to no success. I am hopeful that these recommendations, if acted upon by the City and Province, will change our rate of success.

The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee reports, for the information of Council, also having had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter the following communications:

-(April 10, 1999) from Ms. S.R. Strub, S. Strub Office Professionals;

-(April 27, 1999) from Ms. Lucy Chik;

-(May 5, 1999) from Mr. Edmond Rose; and

-(March 9, 1999) from Mr. Kevin Yuen.

(Councillor Prue, at the meeting of the Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee on May19, 1999, declared his interest in that portion of the foregoing report pertaining to Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), in that his wife is an employee of HRDC and is involved in determining grants that may be awarded to various groups, including the City of Toronto.)