Working together to connect individuals and families to the right supports at the right time

Community members took part in a virtual Homelessness and Coordinated Access Community Forum hosted by Bruce and Grey Counties on November 12, 2025. The Grey Bruce Community Safety and Well-Being Planning initiative presented the opportunity to explore services available across the region and the coordinated response provided by community partners.  

A range of topics including Coordinated Access, emergency shelter options and outreach services were covered through presentations by both counties and the YMCA Owen Sound Grey Bruce.

“We often speak about having the right supports available at the right time, while creating pathways to stable housing,” commented Anne Marie Shaw, director of community services, Grey County. “The forum focused on how a combinations of efforts including homelessness prevention supports, early intervention services, crisis response, transitional and supportive housing options, and community safety approaches all play a part in addressing this complex issue.”

Community partners, together through the coordination of the Community Safety and Well-Being Planning initiative, work to build a strong, responsive housing system that supports vulnerable residents. Thank you to local organizations and volunteers for your continued support for residents who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

If you need support or are concerned about the well-being of a person who is homeless, you may:

• Call 2-1-1 or visit 211ontario.ca for service navigation or after-hours emergency shelter support.
• Call YMCA Rural Housing and Homelessness Outreach at 519-371-9222.
• Contact Bruce County Human Services at 1-800-265-3022 or e-mail HuSinfo [at] brucecounty.on.ca (HuSinfo[at]brucecounty[dot]on[dot]ca).
• Contact Grey County Housing at 1-800-567-4739 or visit www.grey.ca/contact.
• Call 9-1-1 if someone is in serious distress or in case of emergency.

“The Homelessness and Coordinated Access Virtual Forum provide us the opportunity to engage with the community and build a coordinated system. It’s efforts like these that help us develop supports that make a difference in our communities,” said Tina Metcalfe, director of human services, Bruce County.

For more details about housing and homelessness supports:

• Bruce County - www.brucecounty.on.ca/housing-and-homelessness-support
• Grey County - https://www.grey.ca/resident-services/community-services

What is the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan (CSWBP) Grey-Bruce?

Community Safety and Well Being Planning helps organizations improve the things that keep us healthy, happy, and safe. Together, we use research to create solutions focused on education, health care, food, housing, income, crime, and belonging. It is important that we create a welcoming community where problems are solved before they happen and where different professionals and community members come together to help people now and in the future. 

The ongoing work of CSWBP is supported by an advisory committee representing over 78 partners from across Bruce and Grey who are working together to address crime prevention by investing in social development, prevention, and risk interventions. This upstream preventative model focuses on creating protective factors that make individuals less vulnerable to crime and victimization.

For more information, contact:

Rob Hatten
Communications Manager
Grey County
519-373-1592
robert.hatten [at] grey.ca (robert[dot]hatten[at]grey[dot]ca)

Nicole Griffin
Communications Manager
County of Bruce
226-668-5969|
CDonaldson [at] brucecounty.on.ca (ngriffin[at]brucecounty[dot]on[dot]ca)

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