The group representing most of Ontario’s municipalities says the province’s homelessness disaster is at a tipping level.
Greater than 81,000 folks have been reported as homeless in 2024, which is an estimated enhance of 12 per cent from 2023.
The overwhelming majority of homeless people dwell in city centres in southern Ontario.
The Affiliation of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) launched a brand new report on Thursday, urging the provincial and federal governments to take vital, long-term motion.
AMO President Robin Jones stated greater than half of homeless Ontarians are chronically homeless.
“Too many individuals are caught in a cycle as a result of our homeless response system is damaged and poorly funded,” she stated. “Consequently municipal spending on housing and homelessness has vastly elevated not too long ago, nearly doubling since 2020 to greater than $2 billion in 2024.”
Jones stated federal and provincial investments solely ship a fraction of what’s required.
“We’d like different orders of presidency to acknowledge the dimensions and the urgency of this disaster. They need to make this concern an actual precedence by working with communities to truly resolve the disaster,” she stated.
The report estimates that to finish power homelessness, a further $11 billion over 10 years could be wanted to extend give attention to prevention and create greater than 75,000 new reasonably priced and supportive housing models.
Moreover, the report recommends an funding of $2 billion over eight years to deal with the instant precedence of making certain all encampment residents are appropriately housed.
Karen Redman, Chair of the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO), stated the homelessness disaster is taking a devastating toll on folks in Ontario communities.
“Our municipal workers and first responders are seeing first hand how our present responses should not working. They fail our residents experiencing homelessness, they fail our communities in on the lookout for severe significant adjustments to maintain our neighborhoods secure and wholesome,” she stated.
Redman added whereas latest provincial investments are appreciated, they’re inadequate.
“These are investments our communities want and it’s time for the provincial authorities to undertake this method that prioritizes long-term housing options, in order that we are able to resolve this disaster collectively,” she stated
Redman stated she understands the value tag is excessive.
“The fact is we’ll pay for it now or we’ll pay for it later and what we want is provincial and federal, on some stage, partnership to make centered investments into the gaps that we all know exist as a result of that is solely going to worsen,” she stated.
In a press release, Ontario NDP Chief Marit Stiles known as the report a searing indictment of the federal government’s inaction.
“After six years, there’s nonetheless no actual plan to deal with the essential lack of reasonably priced housing that’s forcing so lots of our neighbours out within the chilly,” Stiles stated.
The report stated with none further motion homelessness will proceed to extend.
It stated homelessness within the province may double over the following ten years.
