The plea from mayors across Ontario is clear and loud: towns and cities are being overwhelmed by encampments of the homeless. They don't know what to do. They don't have the resources to solve the problem.

A report at the AMO conference this week revealed that at least 1,400 homeless encampments have occurred in Ontario's cities and towns in the past year. They are primarily downtown or in city parks.

AMO is asking the province for guidance on how to handle them. In particular, help with housing and supporting the people involved.

Ontario's Big City Mayors caucus, which represents 29 cities with about 70% of the province's population, is calling on the province and the federal government to provide more than what they term 'piecemeal funding'. The mayors point out three primary issues: homelessness, drug addiction, and mental illness.

The mayor's caucus freely admits they can't handle this problem on their own. They are correct. The chair of the group, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, called the situation an 'unprecedented humanitarian crisis'. This is a complex social and humanitarian problem.

Most of the search for solutions comes down to money. Provincial and federal funding is erratic, short-term and insufficient. The property tax base was never designed for, and cannot provide sufficient funds for, this kind of societal catastrophe.

When taxpayers are hesitant to go downtown because of the fear of being hassled on the street, or families are reluctant to go to a public park because of the fear of kids touching needles, then the situation is indeed a catastrophe. Those should be routine enjoyments that residents can indulge in. When they no longer feel safe or the trip becomes unpleasant, tensions rise and tolerance decreases.

City councils are put in an impossible situation. They don't have the funding and don't have the answers. There is, properly, a desire to treat the people in this situation with care and dignity. Locking them out is usually a battle. Clearing out tents is often a nightmare. But the problems are growing, and tensions are rising in many municipalities.

Even worse, some people are giving up. People who used to shop downtown regularly are simply saying, "No". They now shop on-line or at other stores. The blow to downtown merchants is significant; they already have problems of vandalism, theft, and people defecating on their front steps. Some merchants now lock their front door during business hours, and shoppers enter only with an appointment.

It cannot continue.

This is a moment when the federal and provincial governments must step up with substantial long-term funding for their municipal partners, and support for local solutions.

There has been some coalescing around answers: street outreach; low-barrier shelters; treatment programs; permanent housing. These are all large, difficult and expensive solutions. The federal and provincial/territorial governments must be the largest contributors to pay for these programs.

Many Canadians feel and act generously when they hear about a humanitarian crisis in some far-away land. Perhaps it is now time to look closer to home.