Hundreds could end up homeless when housing subsidies expire, city officials fear

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People with disabilities forced to leave their supportive housing units and long-term care and other vulnerable people who are left homeless: Here are the possible consequences of the housing subsidy expiration dates ahead for 551 local households.

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“You have to understand that cutting these programs will put people on the streets. So clear ”, Ward 3 Coun. Rino Bortolin said during a meeting last week of the council’s standing committee on parks and community services. Members were grappling with an administration report on the expiration of six federal / provincial programs that award $ 3.4 million annually in rental subsidies to: victims of human trafficking; survivors of domestic violence; old people; youth; homeless people and people at risk of homelessness; people with disabilities; people in crisis; and the working poor.

Two of these programs that help 88 people expire on March 31. Usually the programs are renewed on a routine basis, but that seems to be not the case now.

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“We haven’t been given a glimmer of hope at the last minute,” said Community Development and Health Services Commissioner Jelena Payne.

City staff have been scrambling to find replacement financing and believe they have those 88 homes covered under another program for the remainder of 2022. But that’s money that would otherwise go to other people requiring grants to help avoid make them homeless, they said. The remaining people whose programs expire in 2023 and 2024 are being given a higher priority as they reenter the waiting list of more than 5,000 for affordable housing. But again, that puts other eligible people lower on the list, Bortolin said, adding that he is shocked by the implications of the expirations.

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Five hundred and fifty-one households could translate into more than 1,000 people displaced from other programs, ending up in local shelters or, worse, on the street, he said.

“This is a big problem, this is a big problem,” he said, stating that Windsor and other municipalities should make these expirations, which are occurring across the province, a problem in the June 2 elections. The expirations would set the city back after making great strides in fighting homelessness, he said.

A recent survey reported 463 known households experiencing some form of homelessness in Windsor-Essex, 338 of which had experienced chronic or long-term homelessness. The report warns that the expiration of these programs “has the potential to increase the demand for affordable housing, evictions and homelessness in approximately 500… households” over the next three years.

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The committee backed a motion calling on the province and federals to expand the programs and asking municipal advocacy groups, such as the Ontario Association of Municipalities, to take up the cause.

“Obviously we have a high level of frustration here today, a lot of this is out of our control,” Ward 10 Coun said. Jim Morrison.

Of particular concern is the plight of disabled people. Assisted Living Southwestern Ontario has 80 households that rely on the Strong Communities Rental Supplement Program expiring March 31, 2023. Of the 80 households, 24 live in ALSO supportive housing units where they receive specialized daily support.

“For many of these people, the loss of these grants means relocation to long-term care or hospital services,” writes CEO Ralph Ganter in a Dec. 23 letter to city council. If they lose their housing allowance and have to move, they will lose the support that allows them to live independently “and will almost certainly require institutionalization,” he said.

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“Losing these grants would create a real crisis for the Windsor-Essex disability community and the staff who work tirelessly to support them.”

The situation is “terrifying”, Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac said at Wednesday’s meeting.

“This is like the perfect storm. What are we going to do if it is not renewed?

In an interview, Jolayne Susko, the city’s housing policy and administration coordinator, said city staff have been working diligently for 18 months trying to find other programs that these potentially displaced households may qualify for, such as rent. adapted to income, the Windsor-Essex Housing Benefit or the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit. All households received written notice of the situation and were advised to return to the central affordable housing waiting list. If they don’t respond, staff go “door to door” trying to get them to do what is required, he said.

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Fortunately, those whose subsidies expire on March 31 – particularly the 82 households in the Investment in Affordable Housing program – will be covered with about $ 500,000 from another fund, he said.

“The difficulty is taking care of those 82 households, we cannot help 82 new households with these funds, and we know that the need is great.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, Susko said that finding financing for households that could lose their financing in 2023 and 2024 will “set us back” on the plan to combat homelessness.

“We are looking to save the 500, which means that we will not be able to help the people on the list,” he said. “That’s what this means.”

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