The nationwide housing crisis has driven a surge in demand for assisted housing in Halton communities, where visible homelessness and encampments are increasingly common.
“Halton’s average monthly rent is one of the highest in the GTA, and it leaves a growing number of households unable to participate in the private market rental housing,” said Alex Sarchuk, commissioner of social and community services, during a recent Halton regional council meeting.
With 1-bedroom apartments averaging over $1,900 per month, a single person would need an annual income of $80,000 to afford such housing, Sarchuk noted.
The Halton Access to Community Housing (HATCH) waitlist reflected the growing demand for affordable housing, having gone up by 52 per cent since 2021. The list had more than 7,100 names in 2023.
At current rates, only nine per cent of those on the list are housed each year.
Nearly 55 per cent of the applicants are from outside Halton, while 45 per cent — or about 3,200 — live in the region. Most earn less than $30,000 a year.
High rental market costs, increased demand on assisted housing and worsening mental health and addictions crises have strained Halton’s emergency shelters.
Shelters are now operating at 40 per cent over capacity, and the average stay has nearly doubled from 37 days in 2021 to 68 days in 2024. Since 2018, unsheltered homelessness has risen by 185 per cent.
“Unfortunately, visible homelessness and encampments are now a reality,” Sarchuk said.
The latest available point-in-time count — a survey conducted on a single night — found at least 293 individuals experiencing homelessness on a given day, with 65 per cent facing mental health or addiction issues.
These “sobering” challenges point to the scale and complexity of the housing and homelessness issues that the region must grapple with over the next 10 years, according to Sarchuk.
Under the proposed resourcing plan for the 2025-2035 comprehensive housing strategy, $196 million will be allocated over the next decade to support new development for assisted housing. The funding plan adapts to recent provincial changes and anticipates rising construction costs in through 2025 and beyond.
Halton aims to create 1,350 new affordable housing units over 10 years. Achieving this goal will depend on securing matching investments from provincial and federal governments. With regional funding alone, up to 450 of these units are achievable, including 294 assisted and 156 supportive housing opportunities.
Details of the multi-year capital funding strategy for assisted housing will be presented to regional council as part of the 2025 budget and business plan.