THE VULNERABLE: 1)City of Barrie reinvests $5,000 into two family reunification programs; 2) County of Simcoe wraps up hospice investment; 3)Homeless Encampments: Why Orillia didn’t copy Barrie’s state of emergency around homeless encampments, according to its mayor

1)City of Barrie reinvests $5,000 into two family reunification programs

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, October 16, 2025

The City of Barrie is providing $5,000 in funding to both the Elizabeth Fry Society and John Howard Society to assist with their family reunification programs.

Originally, council approved funding in May 2023 to address chronic homelessness and enhance public safety in Barrie. It also approved funding for a family reunification fund to pay for the transportation costs and to help reunite individuals with families or support groups.

It then provided $10,000 to each organization in 2023, which carried them through two years. The additional $5,000 is expected to sustain the programs for another year.

“Every person deserves the chance to reconnect with family and find stability,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall in a release. “By continuing to invest in programs like this, we’re helping people take meaningful steps toward rebuilding their lives and strengthening our community.”

“The John Howard Society of Simcoe & Muskoka is deeply grateful to the City of Barrie for their generous $5,000 Family Reunification Fund contribution,” said John Howard Society of Simcoe Muskoka executive director Hayley Murdoch-Fyke in a release. “This fund plays a vital role in helping individuals rebuild their lives by reconnecting with family and support networks after incarceration.”

Murdoch-Fyke says the fund has supported 88 individuals locally since its launch in 2023 and has allowed those people to access stability and continue the society’s work to focused on prevention, intervention, and re-integration across the province for those affected by the criminal justice system..

Meanwhile, the Elizabeth Fry Society helped 61 people locally through the last round of funding. Those individuals were able to return to home communities where they had family or established support systems.

“This renewed investment ensures we can continue to remove barriers, promote stability, and reconnect people with the networks that help them thrive,” Elizabeth Fry Society Simcoe Muskoka executive director Meghan Chambers said in a release.

The funding announcement follows the state of emergency in Barrie declared by Nuttall September 9 to address encampments.

Since then, the City of Barrie and County of Simcoe have coordinated to address several such sites in the city, provide individuals with alternate shelter and supports, and restore the impacted areas.

According to data from the County of Simcoe’s Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS), as of October 6, 2025 there was 619 people experiencing homelessness in Barrie.

2)County of Simcoe wraps up hospice investment

Courtesy Barrie360.com and News Release

By County of Simcoe, October 15, 2025

Warden Basil Clarke, County Councillors, and staff joined representatives from the Simcoe County Hospice Alliance to celebrate the successful completion of the County’s five-year funding commitment to regional hospice and palliative care (Image supplied – County of Simcoe – Oct. 15, 2025

County of Simcoe councillors recently presented a cheque for $437,987 to representatives of the Simcoe County Hospice Alliance, marking the final installment of the County’s five-year commitment to enhancing residential hospice and palliative care services across the region.

Launched in 2021, this strategic investment has supported community expansion, capital projects, and Infection Prevention and Control upgrades at hospice centres throughout Simcoe County. Over the past five years, the county has contributed more than $2.3 million to help strengthen compassionate end-of-life care for residents.

This year’s funding was distributed among Alliance partners as follows:

Hospice Georgian Triangle – $128,081 Hospice Simcoe – $98,763 Mariposa House Hospice – $77,371 Matthews House Hospice – $75,445 Hospice Huronia – $58,327

The County of Simcoe remains committed to supporting vital health care services and ensuring that residents have access to high-quality hospice care close to home.

Quotes

“We’re proud to support the Simcoe County Hospice Alliance in their mission to provide dignity, comfort, and care to residents and families during life’s most vulnerable moments. This funding reflects our commitment to building up community-based health care and ensuring that every resident has access to high-quality end-of-life support close to home.” ~ Warden Basil Clarke

“On behalf of the hospices across Simcoe County, I want to express our sincere gratitude to the County of Simcoe for their ongoing commitment to hospice infrastructure. This partnership has been instrumental in helping our organizations expand programming and continue delivering exceptional, compassionate care to individuals and families throughout the region.” ~ Trish Rawn, Chief Executive Officer, Hospice Georgian Triangle

Photo Caption: Warden Basil Clarke, County Councillors, and staff joined representatives from the Simcoe County Hospice Alliance to celebrate the successful completion of the County’s five-year funding commitment to regional hospice and palliative care.

About the Simcoe County Hospice Alliance

The Alliance was formed to look at regional planning and project capital needs across Simcoe County for area hospice centres. This group is comprised of representatives from Hospice Georgian Triangle in Collingwood, Hospice Huronia in Midland, Mariposa House Hospice in Orillia, Matthews House Hospice in Alliston, and Hospice Simcoe in Barrie. From 2017 to 2019, the County also provided $1.5 million as part of its previous three-year commitment towards creating greater access.

About the County of Simcoe

County of Simcoe is composed of 16 member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents, in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca.

3)Homeless Encampments: Why Orillia didn’t copy Barrie’s state of emergency around homeless encampments, according to its mayor

Courtesy Barrie360.come

By Ian MacLennan, October 12, 2025

Orillia Mayor Don McIssac says he has heard from people who wanted him to declare a state of emergency in the city around homeless encampments, similar to what Mayor Alex Nuttall did in Barrie last month.

“Obviously, we’ve been monitoring Barrie’s process and what’s happened there. We have issues in Orillia that are similar, but maybe not as deep and widespread as Barrie’s, but there not a lot of information out there. We thought education was the right thing.”

At a special meeting of city council on Monday, councillors got an education from the County of Simcoe’s general manger of social and community services and the county’s director of housing and homelessness services.

The County of Simcoe oversees social housing in the region, including shelters, and has repeatedly emphasized its 10-point plan

“We did not start at the conclusion that we need to declare an emergency. We didn’t know. We know we needed more tools and we need more help, so that was the premise of the discussion.”

McIssac says one thing he took away from the meeting was the city did not need to declare a state of emergency to get resources from the county.

“Indeed, it was unclear the advantage of declaring a state of emergency. The provinces provides help but they aren’t providing any financial resources at this point, so we couldn’t see an advantage of declaring a state of emergency versus just asking the county to help.”

The mayor says the city’s focus is certainly to help the most vulnerable and it’s a priority that council has set.

“There’s a small minority of criminal elements that prey on our most vulnerable and commit crimes in the community. We’re going to deal with that as well.”

McIssac echoes the Barrie mayor about helping those who want it.

“We want to help people who need and want that help. If they don’t want the help, then Orillia is really not their place. I think that message came across fairly clear.”

Moving people who are living in a homeless encampment from private or public property doesn’t change the fact they are still homeless, says McIssac.

He says the county does provide vouchers and other resources, and if they have a place to stay, they then may need help with mental health issues, opioid issues or alcohol issues.

“There is that trauma they still need to deal with, so the county is able to help with that as well.”

Things are being done, according to the mayor, such as supportive housing for youth, rapid rehousing to people who maybe experiencing homelessness for the first time and to keep them from being chronically homelessness. McIssac thinks it’s worked fairly well, and adds there are other options the county is looking at it to get more permanent places for people to stay.

McIssac estimates there are about 150 people in Orillia who are living in about five or six encampments, though he says the numbers peak in the summer. There are no encampments in city parks that the mayor is aware of, but they do remove those on other city property.

The process is different from private property, as the city can’t just go in and uproot individuals living there. The landowner has to act, and seek assistance from police who will issue trespass notices, and then the city or landlord will go in and clear off the property once the people have left.

Moving forward, McIssac says they have developed daily meetings with the bylaw department, the fire chief, and the county to discuss encampment issues.

“Obviously we are looking to reduce or resolve the problem whatever way we can. There’s no silver bullet. If there was, it would have already been fired.”