Kitchener achieves major milestone in effort to end homelessness

The City of Kitchener is patting itself on the back, not undeservedly, after announcing it had completed all 44 of the actions outlined in its Housing for All strategy.

The announcement came at the city’s Planning and Strategic committee meeting on Monday, saying it represents a significant milestone in the overall goal of ensuring all Kitchener residents have a place to call home.

Kitchener Mayor, Berry Vrbanovic was a guest on The Mike Farwell Show and said a significant portion of the Housing for All strategy is identifying the City’s roll in ending homelessness.

“We were specifically looking at is: What the city can do as an implementer itself? Where can it partner with other orders of government, particularly the Region who in our two tier system is the housing services manager. And, where do we have a roll where we can advocate with community partners to the provincial and federal orders of government.”

The actions identified in the strategy were grouped by priority:

• Human rights-based approach to housing
• Commitment to lived experience collaboration
• Help end homelessness
• Help secure community, affordable rental and affordable ownership housing
• Advocacy
• Align policies, processes and use of city land to facilitate more affordable housing
• Fill data gaps and establish effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms

Vrbanovic said an example of the 44 actions completed is the city-owned lands that will soon become affordable housing.

“We made the site at Ottawa and River available for that. We have a site at Lancaster and Wellington, and that will be supportive housing. And then, during the State of the City speech, we announced the site in downtown Kitchener that will be a combination fire hall as well as affordable housing.”

Another example is the city waving development fees for not-for-profits as well as to introduce a not-for-profit affordable rental and co-op housing incentive.

Vrbanovic said this work wouldn’t be possible without support from upper levels of government.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge both the federal government and their work around a national housing strategy and the money that’s been available to us through the Housing Accelerator fund as well as the provincial government and the money that’s been made available to us through the Building Faster fund because we surpassed our targets in 2023 and we look forward to see how we did in 2024,” he said.

Vrbanovic said in a press release that he is pleased by the work accomplished so far but recognized there is quite a way to go before homelessness has been eliminated in Kitchener.

“It goes without saying that these 40 actions have demonstrated important steps forward in our long journey, and as I look over these actions, I see that staff and council in partnership with the community have been busy working, planning, collaborating and advocating for the housing needs of our community. I look forward to continuing to work with staff, council, community partners and other orders of government to see further progress in our Building Kitchener Together priorities in the coming months and years.”