If you stroll through London, Ontario, you might notice a quiet reality hiding behind the city’s historic streets and parks. According to the City’s Q1 data, nearly 2,000 people were actively experiencing homelessness in 2025, a figure that continues to climb (City of London, 2025). 

These are not just statistics; they are deeply complex human stories. The young adult striving to find work while sleeping in a tent, the senior navigating the dangers of streets they have walked for decades, and crucially, Indigenous community members who are disproportionately affected. While making up only 2.6% of London’s population, Indigenous peoples account for nearly 30% of those experiencing homelessness (Homeless Hub, 2025). This is a cycle rooted in challenges that run generations deep, with many trapped in chronic homelessness. Scholar Jessie Thistle writes that Indigenous homelessness is often defined not only by a lack of shelter, but by isolation from “land, water, place, family, kin, each other, cultures, languages, and identities”. 

The visible struggle is clear: London counted 75 active encampments as of June 30, 2025. To support these vulnerable communities, city teams led 1,045 Coordinated Informed Responses (CIR) between April and June 2025, connecting residents to shelters, housing and essential services. 

However, the strain on the system is immense. With approximately 7.600 people on the affordable housing waitlist, the need for permanent, supportive solutions is urgent 

Experts emphasize the cost of inaction is far higher than the cost of housing. Research from Western University’s CRHESI estimates the cost of homelessness in London exceeds $100,000 per person per year when accounting for emergency services, healthcare, and the justice system (CRHESI, 2025). Supportive housing models, like the city’s “Highly Supportive Housing Plan,” are proving to be transformative:

• One program participant, who struggled with substance abuse and mental illness, had 221 emergency room visits in a single ear while living outside. After moving into supportive housing, that number dropped to just nine (CRHESI, 2025). 

Despite these successes, London's frontline services remain stretched. As one local outreach worker noted: “Encampments are necessary right now because the system itself is inundated, there aren’t enough [shelter] beds” (CTV News London, Dec 2024).

London is working to change that, one program, one person, and one home at a time, striving for a future where homelessness is rare, and never invisible. 

https://london.ca/sites/default/files/2025-08/CofL-SnapshotofHomelessness-JUNE2025.pdf 

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Other link with data: 

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https://globalnews.ca/news/10251025/london-ontario-homeless-data/

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Homeless Hub. (2025, April 22). Steps towards Indigenous-led coordinated access in London, Ontario. https://homelesshub.ca/blog/2025/steps-towards-indigenous-led-coordinated-access-in-london-ontario/

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Centre for Research on Health Equity and Social Inclusion (CRHESI). (2025). Health & homelessness: Research & evaluation findings at a glance. Western University. https://crhesi.uwo.ca/health-homelessness/

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Newcombe, D. (2024, December 24). London Ont. outreach workers say encampments are 'necessary' amid lack of shelter spaces. CTV News London. https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/london-ont-outreach-workers-say-encampments-are-necessary-amid-lack-of-shelter-spaces/

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