YOUR VIEW: Region needs more affordable housing

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 6, 2015

The Town of Newmarket and York Region have seen rapid growth and change over the past 20 years.

As a young woman, I hope to be able to remain in this community and raise a family of my own.

Unfortunately, the cost of housing in York Region has skyrocketed to the point where any young individual or couple cannot even look at the list prices of homes without having a miniature heart attack (the massive ones come with discovering the amount above list price the homes are sold for).

In addition, the cost of rent is almost equivalent to a mortgage payment, if not more in some cases.

Along with the growing spread of affluent subdivisions, there is even larger growth in poverty that has created a division in our community.

As York Region began to rapidly grow, it seems strategies and incentives to build dedicated rental apartments and affordable housing units have equally decreased.

There is minimal attention paid to the specific ways in which our community’s vulnerable populations are impacted by this and are at great risk of homelessness. These individuals may be on limited or fixed incomes and can’t meet the rise in housing costs.

Politicians are aware of this issue, as several articles in local papers have included their awareness and their intensions to address it.

Perhaps one of the barriers to actively working on solutions to this issue is a common “not in my backyard” attitude.

In my opinion, the stigma directed toward people in vulnerable populations is an even larger issue.

In advocating for this social issue to be addressed, I suggest those in government not only look at what per cent of the population is lacking affordable housing, but also how that percentage will rapidly increase as the cost of housing continues to soar.

This should be studied in conjunction with the lack of community resources available to support people who become homeless or at serious risk of homelessness.

Finally, governments can explore new funding models and locations where affordable housing can be built.

Kristina Smith
Newmarket