Deadly Consequences
Toronto is the world’s ninth-least affordable housing market.
Greg Cook, who works closely with Toronto’s homeless community, says as the cost of living in Toronto becomes harder to afford, he sees more people who are younger or from more privileged backgrounds ending up on the street.
“In the 1980s we had way less homelessness in Toronto and Canada. Canada was building 10-20,000 units of affordable housing a year, we are no longer doing that – we’re hardly building any,” says Cook.
In January, Mayor John Tory announced the city’s new subsidized housing plan called Housing Now. The plan seeks to develop 11 affordable housing projects, totalling 3,600 units, offered at 80 per cent of the average city rent. The federal government also announced it will give $15 million to the city toward temporary housing due to lack of capacity in shelters and respite centres.
But advocates say this is not enough. City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam tweeted on Jan. 26:
One alternative is rent-geared-to-income housing. This is an arrangement offered by the City of Toronto where total rent charged is 30 per cent of a household’s monthly income before taxes and adjustments. Toronto-based initiative Shelter and Housing Justice Network, with which Crowe and Wong-Tam are involved, has called for an increase in this type of living arrangement. Cook says the current waitlist increases every year.
“[There are] 98,000 [on the waitlist] this year. It will probably be a 10-year wait. I know someone who was on it for 11 years, they just got a place,” Cook says.
The average monthly rent in Toronto for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,234, according to a Rentals.ca March 2019 report. From government-funded programs like Ontario Works, which provides financial assistance to those in need, one can receive about $733 each month. Even if all of one’s funds were funnelled to rent, it wouldn’t even cover one-third of the cost.
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PORTION ABOUT CAPACITY OF SHELTERS - LAURA IS DOING THIS
How Toronto's housing market and defunding of shelters has deadly consequences for those in poverty.
Photo: Aruna Dutt
Toronto has the world’s tenth-least affordable housing market.
Greg Cook, who works closely with Toronto’s homeless community, says as the cost of living in Toronto becomes harder to afford, he sees more people who are younger or from more privileged backgrounds ending up on the street.
This is also because of the reduced funding for affordable housing.
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“In the 1980s, we had way less homelessness in Toronto and Canada. Canada was building 10,000-20,000 units of affordable housing a year, we are no longer doing that – we’re hardly building any,” says Cook.
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In January, Mayor John Tory announced the city’s new subsidized housing plan called Housing Now. The plan seeks to develop 11 affordable housing projects, totalling about 3,700 units, offered at 80 per cent of the average city rent.
The federal government also announced it will give $15 million to the city toward temporary housing due to lack of capacity in shelters and respite centres.
But advocates say this is not enough. City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam tweeted on Jan. 26:
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One alternative is rent-geared-to-income housing. This is an arrangement offered by the City of Toronto where total rent charged is 30 per cent of a household’s monthly income before taxes and adjustments. Toronto-based initiative Shelter and Housing Justice Network, with which Crowe and Wong-Tam are involved, has called for an increase in this type of living arrangement. Cook says the current waitlist increases every year.
“[There are] 98,000 [on the waitlist] this year. It will probably be a 10-year wait. I know someone who was on it for 11 years, they just got a place,” Cook says.
The average monthly rent in Toronto for a one-bedroom apartment is $2,234, according to a Rentals.ca report from March 2019. From government-funded programs like Ontario Works, which provides financial assistance to those in need, one can receive about $733 each month. Even if all of one’s funds were funnelled to rent, it wouldn’t even cover one-third of the cost.
“It is critical to understand that many people are one illness, one injury, one trauma away from homelessness.”
Rima Berns-McGown, Ontario NDP critic for Poverty and Homelessness.
“I came to terms with the fact that I am not rich so I will never make it here in Toronto,” says Al Key, who has been homeless in Toronto since he was 15 years old.
“Tonight I’m actually sleeping on the street, so I’m going to ask [Sanctuary] for a sleeping bag.” It was Feb. 19 when Key said this; the overnight temperature was -13 degrees Celsius.
Key says that affordable housing units outside of the downtown core aren’t as close to services like food banks and soup lines. “Everybody ends up back downtown and panhandles.”
17 people experiencing homelessness have already died since the start of 2019. Crowe says it’s important to memorialize those who have passed “because they shouldn’t be dying. It’s a travesty. I think it’s intentional public policy neglect.”
Rima Berns-McGown, Ontario NDP critic for Poverty and Homelessness says society as a whole is harmed when the homeless population is not supported.
“It is critical to understand that many people are one illness, one injury, one trauma away from homelessness.”