The Lighthouse outreach team ‘acts as a connection between business owners and our unhoused population,’ says business owner and BIA chair
These columns are written by staff from The Lighthouse to help the community better understand people experiencing homelessness and those who support them. This column appears every other Monday.
Downtown Orillia reflects both ends of the spectrum: thriving local businesses alongside visible poverty and homelessness. To Doug Cooper, a local business owner and active community leader, this complexity represents an opportunity for connection and change.
Doug has lived in Orillia for four years. He knew a couple of other business owners in Orillia and, after visiting, decided he wanted to move here. He was working remotely at the time, but when he was asked to return to the office, he made the bold decision to quit and open his own business.
Provenance Wine Bar first opened at a location on Peter Street South, and Doug quickly immersed himself in the downtown community. He’s not only a local entrepreneur but also serves as the chair of the Downtown Orillia Business Improvement Area (BIA) and sits on city working groups. His deep investment in the community gives him a unique perspective.
While his business was tragically destroyed in a fire in January, Doug’s heart for his community is clear.
“I didn’t know the details of the person who started the fire, but my initial reaction was sadness and frustration. It seems like it was a more complex situation, yet my first worry was that someone was trying to prevent themselves from freezing to death,” he said. “This is why it’s so important that we have services like the warming centre and The Lighthouse’s outreach.”
Doug has reopened Provenance at a new location on Mississaga Street, and his continued commitment to the well-being of everyone downtown is clear. As the chair of the BIA, he works to support local businesses as well as people who are experiencing homelessness.
Doug highlights the importance of The Lighthouse’s outreach services.
“Many people don’t understand how important outreach is. You offer socks, water and information. If you don’t have The Lighthouse, there’s no buffer and people might resort to stealing in order to survive.”
There’s a significant need, and when people are desperate, “they make drastic decisions that impact all of us,” he said.
“Minimal things like providing a warm place or basic necessities make such a big difference for people who are caught in these situations. It makes sense for your outreach to be located between The Lighthouse and downtown in order to meet the needs where people are. If we take that away, people don’t have access to any of the resources they need.”
Doug also talked about the extent of The Lighthouse’s services. In addition to outreach giving “people a way to engage or even just talk to someone,” The Lighthouse offers a number of other services, including emergency shelter, supportive housing, a community meal program, and mental health and medical services.
“People need to understand the full scope of your services. What you do on the budget you have is incredible,” Doug said.
He also pointed out poverty isn’t always visible.
“We have residents downtown who aren’t necessarily homeless. They may be housed, but they don’t have (air conditioning) or a comfortable place to be during the day, so they hang out downtown,” he said.
“As a business owner, you build relationships with your community.”
He has witnessed people move from the streets and into shelters and housing. He has also seen the heartbreak of those lost to addiction or health crises. Through it all, he’s seen the best in people.
“These are people that have a connection to our city and have looked out for me and my business on numerous occasions. It isn’t necessarily comfortable to create a line of communication, but that’s where having community partners like The Lighthouse is so critical. The outreach team acts as a connection between business owners and our unhoused population,” he said.
“More often than not, the behaviour that affects business isn’t technically illegal, and having trained outreach workers from The Lighthouse helps to defuse and mitigate those behaviours in our downtown. To be clear, crime is always crime and should be handled by the police. It’s the other behaviours that we need help with. I don’t know how to effectively defuse a mental health crisis. The Lighthouse’s team does.”
Doug believes in the importance of relationships and open communication in the work he does.
“One thing I’ve learned being the BIA chair and even being on various city committees is that I think I have the solution figured out, and then, through the course of a conversation, I gain a different perspective. There are a lot of good ideas and different ways of seeing things. When we lean into it and are open to listening, we can at least understand where someone is coming from. The more we communicate, the more efficient we can be.”
At the heart of Doug’s approach is a strong belief in our shared humanity.
“I think people need some compassion and to see that people who need homelessness services are just regular people. Homelessness is getting worse. It’s not people choosing this; it’s your everyday family where maybe a family member died or someone lost a job, and they find themselves homeless.”
There are a variety of situations that result in people experiencing homelessness.
“There isn’t a magic bullet to be able to resolve it. If there were, we would have solved homelessness by now,” Doug said.
He is excited about what is happening in downtown Orillia.
“The downtown has many business investments, and units are mostly filled quickly when there is a vacancy. We continue to work on improvements so that our community continues to thrive.”
We’re making a difference through shared commitment and collaboration. As Doug said, “Things only get better when we work together as community partners, business owners, and service providers. We have to manage it together. We’re all part of the community, all just doing the best we can.”
The Downtown Orillia BIA and The Lighthouse are hosting an information session about homelessness and The Lighthouse’s services at Creative Nomad Studios at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12. If you’re a local business owner in downtown Orillia, we hope to see you there.
Linda Goodall is the former executive director at The Lighthouse. For further information contact Dale Rowe, Executive Director at dale@orillialighthouse.ca
Rosemary Petersen is the managing director at The Lighthouse and can be reached at rosemary@orillialighthouse.ca.