City encourages public to support local agencies

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Volunteers with clothing in hand

BRANTFORD, ON – In light of recent concerns and ongoing discussions about community support and public safety, the City of Brantford is taking proactive steps to address the needs of our most vulnerable residents. Rather than engaging in acts of solicitation or panhandling, the City strongly urges vulnerable members of our community who may be at risk of homelessness or currently experiencing homelessness to seek support from professional available community services as follows:

Emergency Sheltering

SOAR Community Services helps housed and homeless individuals in Brantford-Brant to gain access to emergency shelter and support to find permanent housing. Intake services to the emergency sheltering system are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. If you or someone you know does not have a place to stay and needs immediate shelter, please call the Emergency Sheltering Intake Line at 1-888-621-0034 or email housing@soarcs.ca. In person, walk-in services can be accessed from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. at 73 Murray Street, Brantford and after 12 a.m. at 331 Dalhousie Street, Brantford.

More information can be found at soarcs.ca/housing/programs/housing-resource-centre.

Help with Food and Clothing

Ontario Safe Streets Act 

According to the Ontario Safe Streets Act, it remains unlawful to solicit in certain hazardous manners. Specifically, those soliciting are prohibited from:

  1. Threatening a person solicited with physical harm, by word, gesture, or other means, during the solicitation or after the person solicited responds or fails to respond to the solicitation.
  2. Soliciting a person who is in or on a stopped, standing, or parked vehicle while on a roadway, regardless of whether the solicitation is done in an aggressive or threatening manner.

How members of the community can help

The City acknowledges and appreciates that people in our community are very generous and want to help. The City reminds the public that the best way to assist vulnerable members of our community who require support is by donating to an accredited, professional community support agency as per those listed above. This ensures that funds are directed to causes and actions that provide meaningful assistance to those who require assistance.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in making Brantford a safer and more caring community for everyone.

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