Region announces 2,350 affordable houses are in development or occupied

National Housing Day was honored with an event in Cambridge with a theme of Homes for all: a portrait of the housing continuum. The topics of affordable housing and chronic homelessness were the major talking points from multiple speakers.

On Wednesday, Regional Chair Karen Redman announced that 2,350 affordable homes in the region are in development or occupied to date. It was also announced that the year three building goal for the region’s Building Better Futures plan had been surpassed. She stated that 195 of these are supportive housing units that are in development, while 301 are supportive housing units that are already occupied.

Dr. Erin Dej is a Criminology Professor at Wilfred Laurier University and spoke about the increasing concern of homelessness in the country and region.

“For a long time, most experiences of homelessness were short and could be addressed quickly. We now have a complex and long-term epidemic,” stated Dej.

Dej claims that the homelessness emergency that is being seen today is not inevitable. Instead, she states it’s a result of policy and practice decisions that have been made over the last thirty years.

“Since 2016, homelessness has actually decreased by 8 percent. The number of people experiencing homelessness for six months or more has increased by 11 percent,” said Dej.

As explained by Dej, this means that when individuals become homeless, they tend to struggle more then ever getting access to and maintaining housing. This is largely due to housing being unaffordable. Dej explained that this is leading to major issues surrounding health.

“The consequences to responding as we are, to displacing people, leaving them out in the cold or heat, demanding that we don’t have to see the reality of the situation and to not providing housing that works. The consequences are ultimately death,” Dej said.

Jeff Neven, is the CEO of Indwell and described how many of those in the region are affected by saying “581 people are chronically homeless in the region and of those 150 are unsheltered or hidden. After conversation with those here, I have a feeling this is probably under represented.”

Chair Redman spoke on the importance of affordable housing in the region by saying “As a region, building safe, permanent and affordable housing is our ultimate goal. We’re also working to address the growing need for emergency shelter options for those experiencing unsheltered homelessness.”

On Wednesday night there will be a vigil for the homeless starting at 6 p.m. at Vogelsang Green park in Kitchener. Those who plan to attend are asked to bring a candle and a toonie for ToastyToes Waterloo Region.