County releases housing and homelessness report card

The County of Renfrew has a 10-year-plan in place to end homelessness. The County of Renfrew Housing and Homelessness Report Card says the vision is for all residents to have a place to call home. Director of Social Services Laura Lepine says according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the average cost to rent a one bedroom apartment in the county last year was $711. However, she says the cost of housing differs greatly in the county when you compare the more rural areas to the urban centres. Last year, the average cost to buy a home in the county was $242,704 with the median household income at just $68,542. Lepine says they have many different programs in place to help low-income earners stay in their homes including rent supplement programs providing up to $250 a month per family.

In 2018, Lepine says they assisted 13 people through the emergency minor home repair program. They also helped 47 survivors of domestic violence and over 560 people through the homeless prevention program. Over the last five years, the number of social housing units available in the county has remained the same at 1,397, while the number of new applications for the waiting list has more than doubled, from 225 to 598. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced funding for two new programs to expand the supply of community housing, support the repair and renewal of existing structures and address priority areas for rental assistance and affordable home ownership. Over the next three years, the County of Renfrew will receive upwards of $800,000 from the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, which will mostly be invested into repairs of existing social housing units. Over the same time frame, another $1.9-million will be received through the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative and the county plans to spend almost all that money on new homeownership opportunities.