General News

Provincial funding to help secure affordable housing

February 5, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

The province will provide an additional $81,869 to Simcoe County through the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) to help individuals and families secure affordable housing.

This brings the total COHB funding for the County of Simcoe to $1,116,969.00 in 2024-25.

This funding is part of the previously announced $75.5 million in top-up funding to free up shelter space where it is needed most and help people in encampments move quickly from crisis into safer accommodation and ultimately stable, long-term housing.

“Homelessness is a serious, complex and growing problem in communities across our Province and in Simcoe-Grey,” said Brian Saunderson, MPP for Simcoe-Grey. “Our Government is committed to supporting and collaborating with Simcoe County and our municipal partners to provide critical funding that goes directly to those in need and that is flexible and portable.”

COHB is a portable benefit that goes directly to people in need so they can have more choices for affordable rental housing. The funding also supports municipalities by reducing pressures on emergency shelter systems so they can help more people in need.

“When the County created its 10-point Homelessness Prevention Plan, we knew it had to be a data-informed plan that was ambitious while respecting taxpayers’ dollars,” said Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke. “We know that homelessness remains an ongoing challenge across the region and in communities across Ontario, but it is a challenge that, through this announcement and ongoing support provided by the Province, is one that can be mitigated. We thank the Province of Ontario for reaffirming its commitment to the COHB program to support unsheltered people living in encampments and shelters and helping us create successful transitions to safe and stable housing. The announcement of the top-up to the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit will further increase the positive flow of individuals toward permanent housing. The County intends to use additional resources to get people housed quickly and create more space in the system.”

COHB provides funding directly to households that are on, or eligible to be on, a social housing waiting list and to households in financial need living in community housing.

This benefit helps individuals and families who may be at risk of homelessness to secure and stay in a rental home that meets their needs.

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