[homeles_ot-l] Affordable Housing & City's provincial election package - AGREED TO!

[Lynne Browne]

Hello everyone,

 

This morning, Perry Rowe, currently Acting Chair for the Alliance to End
Homelessness, attended the Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee where our submission request was accepted and agreed to by the
committee. 

 

Lynne

 

Submission from Perry Rowe, Acting Chair, Alliance to End Homelessness

What CAN the Ontario government do to End Homelessness?

The Alliance to End Homelessness urges the committee to recommend the
provincial election package of materials for candidates and the community to
Council and we request that the package include in its priority policy areas
those provincial policies having significant impact on people who are
homeless or at risk or losing their homes in our city, indeed on all members
of our community. 

Several areas of provincial responsibility systemically contribute to, and
result in the creation homelessness through policy inadequacy or inaction.
Specifically, we request that these policy areas be included and emphasized:

1.      Affordable Housing  Here we urge the City to state that our
community needs:

1.       A commitment to an overall increase in the amount of provincial
funding to provide affordable, appropriate housing including supportive and
supported housing; 

2.       A commitment to include in the first budget after the election, a
significant and substantial increase in the amount of yearly funding for
affordable, supportive and supported housing.

2.      Low Incomes & Minimum Wage  Here we urge the City to state that our
community needs:

1.       A commitment to immediately improve and increase benefits for
Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program to pre-1995 levels; and

2.       A commitment to immediately increase Minimum Wage to at least
$10/hr.

3.      Mental Health and Addictions Services  Here we urge the City to
state that our community needs:

1.       A commitment to immediately increase mental health and addictions
services to meet the current demand in our community.

The City of Ottawa Provincial Package will be an excellent opportunity to
make ending homelessness a priority - we applaud and support the
recommendation.

The policy and program tools to address homelessness are well known in our
community. Our members believe that all that is needed to make homelessness
a priority is political will of politicians at all three levels of
government - political teamwork can end homelessness.

Ending homelessness is a worthwhile investment . . . with dividends of
better and reduced health costs, a much-needed economic investment in
housing, a more employed and better-educated work force and, best of all, a
more vibrant Ottawa community for all its members. 

 

 

****************

Lynne Browne 
Coordinator, Alliance to End Homelessness 
147 Besserer Street, Ottawa ON  K1N 6A7 
613-241-7913 x 205, lbrowne at ysb.on.ca 
www.endhomelessnessottawa.ca 

 

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