Stouffville residents report seeing more and more mendicants.
Mendicancy is known to attract the permanently homeless and addicted from other areas.
Iain Lovatt, Mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville, referred Bullet Point News to York Region’s Homelessness Prevention Program without commenting on the mendicancy when asked: “Hearing about people in our community who are struggling to make ends meet and experiencing homelessness is never easy. I am grateful we have access to supports through York Region’s Homelessness Prevention Program, which helps eligible residents who are at risk of homelessness with resources to meet emergency housing needs. Anyone in need of shelter can contact the York Region Emergency Housing Central Intake Line at 1-877-464-9675, ext. 76140, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Mendicancy and panhandling are known to precede more serious social problems.
Should the town create a strategy to help mendicants find jobs to prevent them from publicly begging?
