SWLF 3105 (Week 19) Today

1
SWLF 3105 (Week 19)Todays theme Housing and
Homelessness

• Two important thoughts as we begin
• Who is responsible for the homeless?
• What is homelessness a reflection of?

2
Agenda for this week

• Field trip (March 11-13), brief report.
• Looking ahead papers 4 and 5.
• Housing and Homelessness, Course Pack.

3
Shelter allowances in perspective

• The issue at hand
• Studies reveal that curbing rates of evictions
  can have an enormous impact in reducing the ranks
  of the homeless (by 50 in U.S. research).
• Among those who pay over 50 of their income in
  housing, 60 are on social assistance, and 40
  are working poor.
• The measure addresses the affordability crisis
  in housing (e.g. the case of Toronto - p.78, GR)

4
Torontos homeless population

• Homeless those who live outside or in emergency
  shelters.
• Trends in Toronto increased s of homeless,
  despite unemployment rates Shelter stays of
  longer durations.
• Impact of low vacancy rates in the rental market.

5
Factors contributing to homelessness (Toronto)

• Rent rising faster than incomes
• Average cost of housing after Tenant Protection
  Act (1998)
• Long waiting lists for subsidized housing
• Eviction rates, expedited by the Tenant
  Protection Act (1998)

6
Shelter allowances in perspective

• Shelter allowances would provide an option to
  stays in emergency shelters. Shelter allowances
  help tenants pay for and keep housing (most often
  the housing they have).
• The vast majority of clients of emergency
  shelters are there for economic reasons.
• Shelter allowances would also address the
  fasting-growing category of applicant for social
  housing low-income families (over 100,000 on
  Toronto waiting list for housing).

7
Shelter allowances in perspective

• The added purpose of a shelter allowance to
  create an incentive to seek work by providing
  additional income to the working poor.
• The 35/90 formula this is a calculation
  supported by the GR to avoid abrupt cessation of
  benefits, and create incentives for searching out
  affordable housing.

8
The cost of shelter allowances

• Quick facts about GR proposed shelter allowance
• Estimated cost of a shelter allowance program in
  Ontario 91 M.
• Extending the program to working poor adults
  would make the total cost 178 M.
• Again, savings also come from keeping people out
  of shelters, and away from other government
  transfers (SA, EI, etc.).

9
Government funds and affordable housing

• The stock of affordable housing has been
  drastically reduced in recent years.
• of low-income households is rising every year.
• An increasing number of people are falling below
  the 30 threshold for rent payments in Toronto.
• The impact of the Tenant Protection Act (1998)

10
Canadian government policy and housing 1940 -
present

• From the 1940s, federal, provincial and municipal
  governments had been involved in housing policy.
  
• Federal government stops its funding of social
  housing in 1993, and the Ontario government,
  under the PC administrations in the 1990s,
  downloaded social housing to the municipalities.
• Two huge factors creating Ontario homeless
  crisis 1) government withdrawal from funding
  system 2) the 21.6 cut in SA benefits in
  Ontario in 1995.

11
Next week

• The theme Food banks and food insecurity