The Niagara man lobbying for regional state of emergency

Last June, Thorold declared a state of emergency on homelessness, mental illness and addiction. 

The motion, which was unanimously passed by city council, is the initiative of Welland resident Steven Soos, who has been hitting up every local municipality to rally support. His ultimate goal is to get regional council to declare a Niagara-wide state of emergency.

So far, Soos has convinced 11 of Niagara's 12 municipalities, including Niagara-on-the-Lake, to get on board with the proposal. Lincoln is the sole holdout. 

“These are all emergencies in Niagara,” says Soos, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “I don’t want anyone to feel what dying feels like because I felt what dying feels like and it’s bad. I can’t describe the hell to you. Almost dying will change your outlook.”

Soos has been battling mental health and subsequent addiction issues since he was 13 years old.

“Being mentally ill my whole life, I was treated like a leper cast aside,” Soos says. “People were too afraid to talk to me or didn’t want to deal with it. I was someone with high status in society who went to the very bottom. The drugs ate my body and I’ve had three heart attacks as well and I’m 28 years old.”

By getting the region to declare a state of emergency, Soos hopes to solicit funding from the province to tackle the issues head-on.

When Thorold declared the state of emergency back in June, Soos says he felt really strengthened in his fight.

“I just remember crying,” he says. “I was just weeks recovered and yet, sick as I was, I was still out there fighting.”

So what has the city been doing since declaring a state of emergency?

“We have been working alongside Niagara Region and other local municipalities to continue to bring awareness to these issues,” reads a statement from City Hall. “The main intent is to bring attention to upper levels of government to hopefully expand funding for these initiatives to the Niagara region.”

Mayor Ugulini tells ThoroldToday he has also been in touch with the province and the region about the issues.

“A memorandum and a letter was distributed to everybody, including the province,” he says. “We are pushing and promoting and trying to get everybody on board, get the region on board, and work as a group. That way we’ll have the most impact.”

Soos will be speaking at a regional council meeting on Feb. 14, where he hopes to see the declaration of a regional state of emergency. Soos already brought the proposal to regional council a few years ago but it was voted down.

“The region is spreading misinformation that declaring a state of emergency is symbolic and doesn’t have any money attached to it,” Soos says. “I’m using the same emergency management and provincial emergency response plan that they used in COVID. I have precedent here.”

Ultimately, Soos wants to create a support network for people affected by homelessness, mental health or addiction.

“I would like to see a database for families who can take in someone with a mental health, homelessness or addiction issue,” he says. “That’s the same that happened to me. A family took me in and helped me recover.”

In spite of the initial resistance from the region, Soos is convinced he’ll be successful this time.

“We have to offer the public some kind of hope,” he says. “A motion like this says there is hope. That this is a disease that can be cured with family and community.”