A homeless advocate has spent a lot of time in North Bay recently talking to and learning about the homeless in our community.

Paul Tavares, who is from Cambridge, says the services are here for the those that are homeless but the people that provide them have to let the homeless know what’s available.

“There might be a missing piece to the puzzle. Outreach workers could go on the street and shouldn’t expect homeless people to come to them,” he says.

He was asked if there was anything the city could do about the homeless situation.

He says it would be to copy what is happening in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

“If you want a place to live they find a place for you to live. And then, they find you the support services you need whether it’s budgeting, addiction services or mental health support,” Tavares says.