[homeles_ot-l] ATEH letter in paper today on affordable housing!

[Lynne Browne]

Hi all,

 

Below is the Alliance’s letter sent by Marion Martha Hale, our Chair, to the
editor that appeared on today’s Ottawa Citizen City Editorial page. Thank
you very much to those of you who also sent responses. Also attached is the
presentation Marion Wright on our Steering Committee made to Planning and
Environment Committee Oct. 23rd. The Housing Strategy is to be on the
Council agenda next Wednesday Nov. 14th, the same day as the budget.

 

Lynne

 

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

Ottawa Citizen,  City editorial page

 

LETTERS

City doesn’t meet affordable housing target

Re: How not to create affordable housing, Nov. 6.

What about housing for those with incomes of $32,000 or less?

Perhaps columnist Randall Denley is unaware that 35,000 households (or 10
per cent of all Ottawa households) live on annual incomes of $18,145 or
less. Or that another 35,000 households have incomes between $18,146 and
$31,987. These community members need appropriate and affordable rental
housing.

Since 1996, about 94 per cent of the new housing built in Ottawa has been
constructed for ownership and only six per cent was built for renting. In
fact, the affordable housing target of 25 per cent in the City of Ottawa’s
official plan has not been met since it was adopted in 2003.

In 2006, the impact of this rental housing crisis appeared in Ottawa as
9,010 individuals — families (many having children), youth, women and men —
who stayed in an emergency shelter and in the 10,055 households on the
social housing waiting list. Worse yet, between 2004 and 2006, the number of
homeless people staying in emergency shelters increased by four per cent.

We disagree, Mr. Denley. It is time for “meddling” by giving the city
housing strategy and the official plan some teeth with monitored guidelines
for affordable housing targets. It is time to move ahead and trust in our
community’s ability to work together.

The alliance believes that we all have a responsibility to ensure everyone
has an appropriate, affordable home. We want to work with councillors,
developers, community agencies and those who are homeless to find incentives
and creative solutions to this crisis. How can we provide mixed housing in
neighbourhoods throughout Ottawa? Why not create new developments with a
rental component and purchase housing of various sizes and costs side by
side?

Barriers to inclusive communities can be overcome by working together. When
it comes to ending homelessness, we must do what we can together.

MARY-MARTHA HALE, Ottawa Chair, Alliance to End Homelessness

 

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 

 


No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.25/1118 - Release Date: 08/11/2007
9:29 AM
 
  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.web.net/lists/private/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20071109/3077f181/attachment-0001.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Housing Strategy ATEH presentation PEC Oct 23, 2007.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 88064 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://list.web.net/lists/private/homeles_ot-l/attachments/20071109/3077f181/attachment-0001.doc