City Council Must Support the Call for Transparency on $2 Million in Homelessness Funding
🛑 URGENT CALL TO ACTION — VOTE HAPPENS TUESDAY, JUNE 24
On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, London City Council will vote on whether to request a public update on how $2 million in federal Reaching Home homelessness funding has been used — funding that was approved in 2021 but never formally reviewed.
A motion has been brought forward by the Ward 4 councillor, requesting transparency and accountability over this public spending. Shockingly, when it went to the Community and Protective Services Committee on June 9, it failed 0–5 — not a single councillor supported even asking for more information.
The links included in the letter above are below, or you can also view them here (pages 113-114) in the full agenda.
The report outlining this $2M allocation of funding in 2021 can be found starting on p. 46: https://pub-london.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=88239
The delegation of Reaching Home funding goes back as early as April 2019, this report can be found starting at page 68: https://pub-london.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=60640
Ontario Auditor General Report: 2021 Value for Money Homelessness https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arreports/en21/AR_Homelessness_en21.pdf
Auditor General of Canada: 2022 Report on Chronic Homelessness https://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/docs/parl_oag_202211_05_e.pdf
Ontario Auditor General Report: 2023 Follow-Up Homelessness VFM https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/news/23_summaries/summary_AR_FU_en23.pdf
Now the motion heads to full Council. Londoners must speak up.
📬 EMAIL YOUR COUNCILLOR NOW
Ask them to support the motion for accountability.
📨 CC the Mayor: mayor@london.ca
📍 Find your councillor’s contact info:
👉 https://london.ca/city-council/members-council
Subject line:
Support the motion for transparency on Reaching Home funding
💰 What’s This Motion About?
In 2021, City Council approved $2 million in federal homelessness funding:
$1 million to Atlohsa for land acquisition under the Giwetashkad plan (this project did not proceed)
$500,000 to Unity Project for land acquisition for a new shelter on Dundas St. in the Old East Village
$500,000 to London Cares for renovations at 602 Queens Ave
These are large capital projects. But unless Council formally asks for an update, no follow-up is required under the agreement.
That’s not acceptable. This is public money — and we’re in the midst of a homelessness and addictions crisis.
🧾 Why This Matters
This motion is not about politics. It’s about financial oversight, governance, and accountability to the public.
🔍 In 2019, the City’s own Risk Management team flagged the financial risk associated with Reaching Home agreements, and said oversight would need to be “optimum.”
🚫 The $1M project didn’t go ahead.
🏚️ Another project landed on a struggling section of Dundas St., raising concerns among nearby residents and business owners.
📉 Still, Council has received no formal update.
📢 Auditor General reports (2021 & 2023 Ontario, 2022 federal) have clearly warned about gaps in tracking homelessness funding outcomes.
The Ward 4 councillor is simply asking for the city to do its job — to follow up, assess impact, and fulfill its duty as a steward of public funds.
🧠 More Info (for those who want to dig deeper)
✊ What You Can Do
✅ Email your councillor TODAY.
✅ Urge them to support the motion for transparency.
✅ Remind them: this is not “political” — it’s responsible governance.
The Concerned Citizens Association of London (CCAL) supports this motion because taxpayers deserve to know if this $2 million helped anyone — and how. Asking for an update is the bare minimum of fiscal responsibility.
Let’s make sure Council gets this right.