MP helping city, county with housing grants

More funding needed, not words, local poverty advocate at the Warming Room says

Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef said she’s been working “quite closely” with Peterborough city and county to help officials apply for federal grants for affordable housing.

The number of applications for funding through the National Housing Strategy is “improving” now, she also said, a year after the strategy was introduced.

Monsef said she recently invited prospective applicants to her office to help them apply for money — and she had officials on the phone from Ottawa to answer all their questions.

“Housing is a priority for me,” Monsef said in an interview. “Having a safe, affordable roof over your head — it’s crucial.”

On Thursday Monsef was a speaker at the federal government’s first-ever National Housing Conference in Ottawa.

Her key message: in Peterborough-Kawartha, 1,432 local families have affordable housing thanks to the federal government’s $7.4-million in funding for housing.

That money was included in federal budgets, she said: Any funding that might come to the riding through the National Housing Strategy would add to

that.

“This is something to celebrate,” she said.

The National Housing Strategy was released on Nov. 22, 2017 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The 10-year, $40-billion plan aims to build 100,000 new affordable housing units, repair 300,000 affordable housing units and cut chronic homelessness by 50 per cent across Canada.

Reducing the homelessness rate in Peterborough could be challenging: the apartment vacancy rate has long been stuck at one per cent.

A count taken in March by the city and the United Way found at least 259 homeless people.

A new city staff report says the city has received 25 complaints this year about people living in tents in municipally owned parks.

Christian Harvey, the director of the Warming Room emergency shelter in Peterborough, said in an interview that all the shelters in the city are currently full every night.

“Serious movement” must take place from governments to get people housed in Peterborough, he said.

“The feds need to stop talking and make serious investments,” he said, and the provincial government needs to help too. “Housing should be a right for everyone.”

‘‘ The feds need to stop talking and make serious investments. Housing should be a right for everyone.’ CHRISTIAN HARVEY Warming Room emergency shelterdirector