Affordable housing must be priority: Groups
Falls council to be pressed to find long-term solution to ‘crisis’ in accommodation
City council is being pressed to commit to finding a long-term answer to the shortage of affordable housing in Niagara Falls.
At Tuesday’s meeting – the first of the new council term – the call for action will be led by Hugo Chesshire, policy and government relations director for the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce and Lori Beech, executive director of Bethlehem Housing.
Among the proposals expected to be put to council is for the city to consider allowing so-called tiny homes or shipping containers modified as small houses, that would be available at low rents.
Beech and Chesshire will be backed by several other agencies and individuals that put their support in writing.
Specifically, they are asking council to make a long-term commitment to address the shortage of affordable housing, promote it as a municipal priority, establish an action plan aligned with provincial and federal government policies, and review and amend bylaws to support the creation of affordable housing.
That would be in addition to steps already taken in Niagara Falls, through city hall and by the public.
The city is currently studying the issue of boarding houses and whether to allow motels to convert some or all of their rooms for long-term, low-cost accommodation for local residents.
As well, this is the first winter for an Out of the Cold overnight shelter at St. Andrew’s United Church on Morrison Street, overseen by Project Share using a combination of paid staff and community volunteers.
Other shelters, including Nightlight Youth Shelter on Ontario Avenue, Nova House for women, and the YWCA on Culp Street, have operated for years in the city as demand continues to grow. Rising property and home values have left municipalities across Canada struggling with the issue of providing housing that is affordable to people with low incomes or living on assistance.
The Niagara Falls Community Health Centre supports moves by the city to alleviate “the housing crisis” it faces.
“Many Niagara Falls residents, renters as well as homeowners, are living in core housing need,” wrote executive director Ricky Kwan.
“This means they are paying more than 30 per cent of their income on housing.
“High cost of home ownership has kept many potential home buyers in the rental market according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp.”
Kwan also cited the closing of motels that offered low-cost, long-term accommodation to people in need, and houses previously available for rental now converted to vacation use, as adding to the problem.
Niagara Regional Housing has a 16-year wait list for applicants ages 16 to 54 in need of a one-bedroom apartment in the Falls, Kwan wrote.
Project Share executive director Diane Corkum also wrote in support, telling councillors “a low income is a huge barrier to overcome for many individuals in our community.
“Different options will not only make it easier for people dealing with poor mental or physical health to maintain, but also easier for them to afford.”
In a separate presentation Deb Nanson, who for years has worked to help disadvantaged young women and people living on low incomes, is scheduled to speak on a proposal she calls the 1-2-3 Exit.
In a letter to council, she wrote, “I believe that if we stagger, not ghettoize, our solution Niagara Falls can embrace all its residents with a new look on life.”