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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Hello everyone,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">Somerset <span class="il">West</span> and Centretown Community <span class="il">Health</span> Centres released its joint report on rooming houses yesterday. This is an update to our <a href="http://swchc.on.ca/sites/default/files/RH-EN.pdf">2016 report</a>, and provides additional information we learned in our 2017 research, and a renewed call to action to landlords, the City, and the Province. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;text-align:start;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">The report shows that rooming houses </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">are a necessary form of <span class="il">housing</span>, but that they </span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">often fail to meet minimum standards for safety <span class="il">and </span>maintenance. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">These conditions represent a potentially harmful environment for tenants who are already marginalized. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">Additional data collected in our second year of research notes that:</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:Symbol;color:#222222"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">82% of tenants have experienced bed bug infestations</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:Symbol;color:#222222"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">70% rely on food banks to survive</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:Symbol;color:#222222"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">73% report 1-3 mental health disorders</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:Symbol;color:#222222"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">Ontario Works recipients spend 72% of their income on rent</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">The media release is below, and can also be found on the <a href="http://swchc.on.ca/news-events/news/rooming-houses-west-central-ottawa-receive-failing-grade-again-2017">SWCHC</a> and <a href="https://www.centretownchc.org/rooming-houses-west-central-ottawa-receive-failing-grade-again-2017">CCHC</a> websites. <a href="http://swchc.on.ca/sites/default/files/Improving_Health_Housing_in_Ottawa_-_Update_on_Rooming_Houses_in_West-Central_Ottawa_2017.pdf">Click here to read the report</a>. Click here for the French <a href="https://www.centretownchc.org/fr/les-maisons-de-chambres-dans-le-centre-ouest-dottawa-obtiennent-encore-une-mauvaise-note-en-2017">media release</a>, and <a href="https://www.centretownchc.org/sites/default/files/Am%C3%A9liorer%20la%20sant%C3%A9%20et%20le%20logement%20%C3%A0%20Ottawa%20-%20Le%20point%20sur%20les%20maisons%20de%20chambre%20dans%20le%20centre-ouest%20d%27Ottawa%202017.pdf">report</a>. We were fortunate to get some pickup yesterday from the <a href="http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/survey-of-rooming-house-tenants-finds-many-scramble-to-pay-rent">Ottawa Citizen</a> and <a href="https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/maisons-de-chambres-a-ottawa-des-actions-concretes-exigees-ef1d65580172aa0ebeb9e83966f425b5?utm_campaign=ledroit&utm_medium=article_share&utm_source=email">Le Droit</a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">CCHC and SWCHC will also be sharing facts and stories through Facebook and Twitter this week – please share and re-tweet this week to help spread the word!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">All the best,</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background:white"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222">Emilie</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Emilie Hayes</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Community Developer</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Somerset West Community Health Centre</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">613-238-8210, ext. 2250</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="mailto:ehayes@swchc.on.ca">ehayes@swchc.on.ca</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://www.swchc.on.ca">www.swchc.on.ca</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p></div></body></html>