(Today’s Northumberland file photo)
Re: Northumberland County Social Services Committee Report 2025-139: Options for Sheltering Models at 310 Division Street
Synopsis:
The report on 310 Division Street presents a biased defense of the current low-barrier shelter model while ignoring the serious and visible impacts of illegal drug use in downtown Cobourg.
It misuses flawed data, downplays public disruption as mere “perception,” and conflates homelessness with addiction. Cobourg residents deserve real solutions focused on safety, accountability, and effective treatment—not a system that enables the crisis to continue.
The recently released report prepared by the Social Services Committee of Northumberland County on sheltering models at 310 Division Street fails to critically address the reality of illegal drug use surrounding the facility.
Rather than presenting a balanced analysis, the report reinforces a pre-determined conclusion: that the current low-barrier model should remain in place. It overlooks significant public harm while presenting selective data to justify a status quo that is clearly not working.
The Business Pulse Survey, cited as evidence of support, was never properly analyzed. Using it to guide major decisions is not only misleading—it undermines trust in the process.
The Community Liaison Committee, presented as a representative voice, is in fact a partisan group.
The only street-level business representative resigned in frustration, recognizing that community concerns were being ignored.
This report completely fails to acknowledge a critical distinction: homelessness and drug addiction are not the same issue. Conflating the two is poor policy and deeply disrespectful to people who are genuinely trying to rebuild their lives.
Equally troubling is the use of the phrase “perceptions of disruption” to describe what’s happening downtown.
The reality is far more serious—residents and businesses are dealing with real, visible chaos: open drug use, loitering, aggressive behavior, discarded needles, and ongoing property damage.
Dismissing that as a mere perception is gaslighting the community.
There also appears to be a bureaucratic unwillingness to decentralize services, with a continued push to keep the most high-impact shelter operation in downtown Cobourg, rather than exploring shared responsibility across the County.
Finally, this report is 32 pages long.
It’s doubtful that all councillors will have the time to read and absorb the full contents before the June 18 council meeting.
Yet they are being asked to make critical decisions about public safety, community wellbeing, and the future direction of Cobourg based on an incomplete and biased analysis.
Cobourg deserves a real solution—one rooted in safety, recovery, and accountability. This report does not deliver that.
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Carol Leighton
A Concerned Cobourg Resident
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
