It has been a challenging year for all of us, but especially so for the more vulnerable amongst us. Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW) helps to alleviate some of the burden via their direct action in our community. We share in their belief that housing is a fundamental right and, as such, during this Holiday Season, our team has decided to contribute to their mission as our way of extending our best wishes to all of you . We invite you to consult showaterloo.org to learn how you can help.
The case for housing the homeless can be stated in moral and economic terms. As a provider of investment services, we thought we should stay in our lane and educate ourselves on the economic arguments.
We share what we learnt.
The state of homelessness is summarised by Professor J. David Hulchanski at the University of Toronto:
“The homeless are people who have passed from one ‘status slot’ in society to a situation that has no status. The discrimination and unequal treatment is as complete as it possibly can be. They cannot access or enjoy any of the rights or opportunities of people who are adequately housed. In the ordinary course of day-to-day life, they are in a state of ‘social abeyance.’ They are dependent on emergency services for their basic survival. These services are not provided in a comprehensive and systematic fashion so as to help people ‘exit’ their social abeyance as quickly as possible. Rather, the emergency services have emerged on a haphazard basis and have proven to be inadequate by many forms of evaluation and research.”
Homelessness, as Hulchanski explains, is not just being without a home but also about being cut off from society and opportunity. 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness in a year of whom 27% are women, 19% are youth and 24% are older adults and seniors. The experience of homelessness is no longer limited to older, single men.
The needs of Canada’s homeless populations are complex and diverse but the economic implications of relying on emergency services and a patchwork of support are clear. Homelessness is expensive – estimated to cost the Canadian economy $7.05 billion annually (2013). A 2017 study estimated the average annual cost of the homeless with mental illness in Toronto to be $58,972[1] with some of the highest needs costing $340,000 per person per year.
In Waterloo Region there are 3,432 households on the housing waitlist (2017) with 2,722 community housing units (2013) available. Currently, a senior must wait almost 11 years for affordable housing in the region. Over 18,000 households in the region are paying half their income or more on housing (2016, Statistics Canada). Paying more than 50 per cent of income on housing costs is considered unaffordable and increases the risk of homelessness.
Progress has been made. Across Canada, 20,000 fewer people in 2014 used emergency shelters than in 2005. Unfortunately, the remaining shelters are fuller, and stays are longer. The challenge is to get people from shelters to a place they can call their own; supportive housing.
According to data from Supportive Housing of Waterloo, the operating cost of a supportive housing for a tenant unit is $22,000 annually. Offering a home and social support in supportive housing saves community resources that can be used elsewhere.
A 2014 study estimated that every $10 invested towards housing and support of chronically homeless individuals results in savings of $21.72 related to health care, social support, housing and the involvement in the justice system.
The risk of inadequate anticipation of homelessness is best illustrated by the experience of Dublin, Ireland in 2017. The city’s homeless budget totalled $197 million. $150 million was spent on emergency accommodation, including $73 million on hotel accommodation, and only $7 million was spent on prevention.
The Dublin experience highlights the need for an integrated approach to housing insecurity that includes early intervention for those at risk of homelessness, preventing evictions and rapid rehousing. Long-term solutions require dealing with the supply of affordable housing. A long-term policy goal is to eliminate the chronic homelessness that is experienced by 20,000 Canadians and to relieve the burden on emergency services from providing long-term housing.
SHOW owns three buildings in Waterloo. The first is comprised of 30 one-bedroom units, 3 of which are accessible for tenants with mobility challenges. Tenants are provided with fully furnished and equipped apartments, and each tenant has access to a fully stocked food pantry in the building. SHOW not only provides individuals with whatever they need within their apartments, but also provides emotional support, access to health care, and staff who are available 24/7 to assist a tenant who might be struggling and to help smooth the path to a life that encompasses both stability and dignity.
The second unit is a 9-unit building comprised of one-bedroom apartments. This housing is affordable housing for individuals who have attained a level of stability and independence and can manage with minimal supports. It was opened in December 2018.
The latest building purchase, in March 2020, provides 24 affordable homes to seniors.
Supportive Housing of Waterloo is about more than just housing. SHOW provides the programs, services and supports to help individuals with homelessness, addiction, mental health and hoarding issues transform their lives.
Homelessness is a complex problem involving vulnerable groups with different needs. The common factor is that homelessness is expensive and best avoided through a combination of supporting those that are homeless to rebuild their lives and providing support to a larger population who are at risk of becoming homeless. We support the progress that has been made and we hope you will as well.
