1. The Affordable Housing Action Network Presentation to the Hastings/Quinte Social Services Committee July 13, 2005

2. Affordable Housing Action Network (AHAN)  Who We Are  What We Do  Boxed-In Report  Affordable Housing Crisis in Hastings County  Costs of a Lack of Affordable Housing  Value of Affordable Housing  Recent Provincial and Federal Announcements  Role of AHAN  Conclusion

3. Affordable Housing Action Network (AHAN): Goal To create more affordable housing options for people who are precariously housed or homeless using a variety of approaches including collaborative networking, housing development, capacity building and advocacy

4. Affordable Housing Action Network: Who Are We?  AHAN created from Hastings County’s Homelessness Advisory Committee, Housing Working Group and other similar groups  Illustrated the need  Unique group  Common vision and desire of the community to work together  AHAN helped develop the “Boxed-In” report

5. AHAN: Who Are We?  A group of local agencies, organizations and individuals who have a common community interest in creating more affordable housing in Hastings County  Includes representatives from more than 15 agencies, organizations and individuals, including:  Three Oaks Shelter and Services for Abused Women  Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (Formerly Legal Services)  Hastings Housing Resource Centre  Canadian Mental Health Association  Hastings & Prince Edward Health Unit  Mental Health Services  Community Visions  Youth Habilitation  Hastings County’s Social Services Department  Victorian Order of Nurses  Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation  Quinte Labour Council  Private Citizens and Landlords  Lack of affordable housing affects all of these agencies, organizations and people and the people they serve

6. AHAN: What Do We Do?  Bring the community together  Involve the community as broadly as possible  Ensure current local resources are efficiently and effectively used  Improve service coordination  Encourage collaboration  Create new affordable and innovative housing options

7. Boxed-In Report: Highlights  Interviewed 781 households  Homeless, at risk of being homeless, precariously housed  Low income households  107 households self-identified as homeless (293 people)  Main reasons:  Affordability of housing  Loss of job or unemployment  Marital/relationship breakdown  Conflict or differences within households

8. Boxed-In Report: Highlights  Survey respondents asked to rank priorities  #1 Priority: Create more subsidized or rent geared-to-income housing  More than one-third of respondents had been homeless within the past three years  70% of respondents reported that their current housing had one or more disrepair issues  Quote: “Rent is too high for people to live. Pay rent and don’t eat or eat and don’t pay rent”

9. Affordable Housing Crisis in Hastings County  2004 in Hastings County (after hours service):  396 households provided with emergency shelter  Over 1,100 people  388 obtained permanent housing  315 retained permanent housing  852 nights accommodation  Average of 1.7 nights per stay  Represents about 1/3 of the people Hastings County’s Social Services Dept. helps

10. Affordable Housing Crisis in Hastings County  1,100 households waiting for subsidized housing in Hastings County  A single person will wait four years to get subsidized housing  Only about 25% of these households receive OW or ODSP  Hastings Housing Resource Centre: increase from 2,695 clients annually in 2000 to 8,097 in 2004  Over 100 households surveyed were homeless  Ontario Works Emergency Worker in Belleville: about 30 households each week in an emergency situation – does not include households already receiving Ontario Works benefits  Conclusion: There is an affordable housing crisis in Hastings County

11. Costs of a Lack of Affordable Housing  One homeless person costs about $60,000/year  Emergency funds  Health care  Policing  Use of resources  Unknown costs – stress on homeless and on their families, recovery from substance abuse, criminalization, mental health

12. Value of Affordable Housing  Reduced emergency services spending  Resources go to permanent, proactive solutions instead of temporary, reactive band-aids  Strengthens the community  Provides stability for families  Increases employment opportunities  Promotes health in children  Allows people to become hard working, tax paying citizens

13. Recent Provincial and Federal Announcements  $602 Million for affordable housing initiatives across the province  Housing allowances – similar to Rent Supplement Program  Creating new affordable housing units  Build new  Renovations of existing buildings  Home ownership program

14. Recent Provincial and Federal Announcements  $1.6 Billion in federal funding for affordable housing in the next two years  All of this funding will flow through Hastings County, the Service Manager  Service Managers must apply to get this funding  All three levels of government need to be committed to improving affordable housing options  Hastings County needs to commit to get as much funding for affordable housing as possible

15. AHAN’s Role  We are a community group reflecting the needs of the community  We are committed to taking action  We are committed to providing accountability  We are available to help Hastings County any way we can to improve affordable housing options  We can assist with determining locations for new affordable housing, getting people organized and implementation  AHAN has the capacity, ability and resources to improve affordable housing options

16. Conclusion  There is an affordable housing crisis in Hastings County  Over 1,100 households waiting for subsidized housing  Over 100 households surveyed were homeless  No new affordable housing has been built for 10 years  Affordable Housing Action Network is organized and ready  Hastings County needs to participate