CANDIDATE STATEMENT
Randy Hope
Mayoral candidate
Hope proposes a 100-day homelessness baseline and a day-180 Home First CK pilot with housing, support, safety and public-reporting measures, while leaving the first numerical housing target and full cost for the pilot plan.
Common question
What first-year municipal action would you support to improve Chatham-Kent’s homelessness response, and how would it balance stable housing, access to treatment and support, lawful enforcement, and neighbourhood and public-space safety?
The question was sent on September 8, 2026 to every certified mayoral and council candidate after a voluntary CK Signals poll reached 40 responses. The poll was non-scientific and self-selected; it did not measure public opinion, voter intention, candidate support or the likely election result.
CANDIDATE STATEMENT
The text is attributed to the candidate. It is neither a CK Signals conclusion nor a verified fact merely because it was submitted.
My first-year priority would be to establish a coordinated, measurable homelessness response through Home First CK. As someone who has served as Mayor and understands the responsibility that comes with spending public money, I believe residents deserve more than promises. They deserve to see whether our approach is actually making a difference.
The problem we need to address
Homelessness is not simply a matter of housing supply. Fragmented crisis responses can count contacts and temporary placements without showing whether people achieve and retain stable housing. We need a reliable, privacy-protected baseline for homelessness inflow, housing placements, retention, service wait times and repeat crisis use before setting final targets.
My first-year action
Within my first 100 days, I will work with municipal staff and community partners to establish that baseline. By day 180, I will bring forward a costed Home First CK pilot with a specific housing target, delivery partners and funding requests. The approach would connect housing searches, landlord outreach, rent supplements, move-in assistance, stabilization supports and discharge planning.
Stable housing must remain the goal, but access to treatment and support must be part of the pathway. Homelessness has many causes, including housing affordability, mental health, addictions, income and employment. Triage is important, but so is the overall growth of our economy. We need to help people access the supports they need while creating jobs and opportunity.
Responsibilities and costs
Council would decide municipal funding, programs, property use and agreements. Municipal administration would manage delivery, privacy and reporting. Housing providers, landlords, health and addiction services, hospitals, police, community agencies and senior governments must contribute the services and authority they control.
I will not promise a cost that has not been properly assessed. The pilot's capital and annual operating costs, funding sources, partner contributions and any service trade-offs will be presented to Council before approval. We will first align existing homelessness resources and pursue federal and provincial funding, including Reaching Home, while seeking provincial support for treatment and supportive-housing operations.
Measuring results and public safety
By day 180, I will identify the accountable municipal owner and publish the reporting schedule. Within 12 months, residents should see a public report measuring stable housing transitions, six- and twelve-month housing retention, returns to homelessness, new inflow, treatment and support access, service wait times, repeat emergency interactions where lawfully available, and neighbourhood and public-space conditions.
Lawful enforcement and public safety must remain part of the response. We need to protect individual rights while addressing unsafe conditions and ensuring public spaces are accessible to everyone. Police retain operational independence, and clinical decisions remain with qualified professionals.
If results miss the target, we will not simply continue because a program exists. We will identify the cause, publish the corrective action, adjust funding or delivery, and scale, redesign or stop the intervention based on evidence.
I am not promising that homelessness will disappear overnight. I am promising that, as Mayor, I will make sure Chatham-Kent can clearly see what we are doing, what it costs and whether it is working.
Verification boundary
The response came directly from the campaign address used in the original distribution, and Gmail authentication checks passed. The Home First CK timelines and proposed activities are consistent with Hope's candidate-owned platform, but neither source independently establishes feasibility, cost, local Reaching Home eligibility, partner commitments or future outcomes. The numerical housing target, capital and operating costs, baseline values, reporting frequency and precise public-safety indicators remain unstated. Any reporting involving emergency interactions, treatment access or housing retention would require lawful data access, privacy protection and aggregate publication rules.
Read the methodology