City of Waterloo announces funding for supportive housing aimed at seniors experiencing homelessness

Significant funding from the City of Waterloo was announced on Tuesday aimed at supporting those experiencing homelessness in the city, specifically senior citizens.

Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe, alongside representatives from Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW) and Central Ontario Co-operative Housing Federation were outside of the supportive housing for older adults building at 144 Erb Street for the announcement.

$375,000 is going to those two organizations to fund projects, including $325,000 going to SHOW to build a 31-unit addition at 144 Erb Street to give more seniors access to supportive housing.

Robert Semple has been a resident at 144 Erb Street for more than a year. He was forced to move to Waterloo Region during the COVID-19 pandemic to move in with his daughter.

When his daughter was forced out of her home, Semple was left to find housing of his own.

After calling around to a number of supportive housing services, he was told he would be put on a year-long waitlist, but that there was a way to expedite that process.

“There’s only one way where you can speed that up and make yourself a higher priority, and that was to become homeless,” explained Semple. “That’s not something I was looking forward to, but there was nothing else I could do, so I ended up at a shelter.”

Eventually Semple found his way to supportive housing after being directed to SHOW, and now finds himself part of a community at 144 Erb Street. He enjoys gardening and doing maintenance on the property.

Brian Paul is the executive director of SHOW. Paul explained his organization is seeing a rise in vulnerable seniors who are looking for housing, many of whom are in unfamiliar situations.

“The number of older adults entering the shelter system has doubled in just about two years,” said Paul. “They are the fastest growing demographic in the shelter system, and for many of them, they are experiencing homelessness for the very first time in their life.”

“In 2022, the life expectancy of someone experiencing chronic homelessness was 55 years of age for men, 79 years of age for those in the general population. For women, a life expectancy of 84 was cut down to 42.”

Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe noted that there is still a significant amount of money to be given out through the Affordable Housing Grant Program, as much as $720,000 dollars, and a second call for applications for that remaining funding is set to open in the Spring.