The Ontario Roundtable on Best Practices Addressing Homelessness brought together about 35 front-line workers from all parts of the province. As Brigitte Witkowski observed in her opening remarks, the gathering revealed what a pervasive problem homelessness has become. Downloading of formerly provincial services to municipalities in Ontario as well as the chronic shortage of affordable housing means that homelessness is no longer just a big city problem. The event brought together people from Barrie, Brampton, Cambridge, Chatham, Hamilton, Kenora, Kingston, London, Newmarket, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Welland, and Windsor. The roundtable format made it possible for communities with less experience in coping with the needs of homelessness to learn from those with more experience. Also, those who are working in long-established programs could be refreshed by the ideas and innovations of those in newer programs. (excerpt from the document)