In Sudbury, Ont., people are going to the library to connect to social services

Each week, Steven McCarthy helps clients experiencing homelessness find housing. And he does it from the main branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library.

Since 2021, the Sudbury, Ont., library has collaborated with Laurentian University's social work program to help people in the community and give students practical experience.

McCarthy is a third-year social work student at the university.

"It's honestly really rewarding when you see that you're able to help someone out that day, even if it's just a little thing like an individual seeking places to rent," he said.

McCarthy said most clients approach him with housing-related issues, so he helps them find apartment listings, connect with landlords,and informs them about the city's by-name list,which helps people experiencing homelessness connect with a number of housing-related social services.

Sandy Hoy, an assistant professor inLaurentian's social work program, pitched the idea for the library to let clients "borrow" a social worker to give her students some real-world experience and make a difference.

"Students get an opportunity to find themselves in these placements, to kind of work through their ideas," Hoy said.

She said one of her students started an ID clinic at the library.

"It's for people who have lost or had their ID stolen," Hoy said.

"Most unhoused people go through that, and then they can't access any services."

Other Ontario cities like Kitchener-Waterloo and Thunder Bay have had similar programs, where social workers have connected with people at the public libraryfor years.

Hoy said she would like to see the Greater Sudbury Public Library hire a full-time social worker one day.

"It's something that needs to be built and have time to grow," she said.

"Students come and go, but it would be great, with the new space in Sudbury, if they were to look at a staff position when they open up that new space."

The city's proposed Junction East project would include a new 104,000-square-foot building in the downtown core that would house the main library branch, along with a new home for the Art Gallery of Sudbury.

Laura Lavigne, the library's co-ordinator of public services, said that since 2016, there's been a big increase in the number of people coming to the library, looking for shelter and other resources to help them.

"It is a great need, and we are far behind the 8-ball on this one." Lavigne said. "And so we really do need a social worker in the library."

Lavigne said some community members come to the library, specifically looking to connect with social work students from Laurentian.

"In my opinion it is probably the most important thing that we're doing right now," she said.

"Just like our collection has moved from strictly print-based, and moved to digital platforms, it is just as important, if not more important, that we are connecting people to basic social needs."