When I ran for Regional Council in 2018, I pledged my main priority if elected would be affordable housing. If I have the honour of being re-elected by the good folks of Waterloo on October 24th, I will continue to make affordable housing a priority. During this term of council, I was invited to serve as chair of the Affordable Housing and Homelessness Steering Committee. I have taken on this role with a determination to work with regional staff and community partners to address our housing and homelessness issues.

In 2021 during this current term of council, we approved “Building Better Futures” whereby as a Region we committed to building 2,500 new affordable homes in five years – 500 a year. To date we are on track to meet our commitment. In 2021 there were 619 units in development, and we are on track to surpass 1000 by the end of 2022. So much of this work depends on funding from both the Federal and Provincial Governments, and consequently we are continually lobbying for adequate funding.

Prior to initiating our “Building Better Futures,” the Region was building an average of 40 units per year, and consequently this new strategy is a significant improvement. Many of the new units are supportive housing for people who are homeless. Here is a list of some of the builds that have taken place in the last two years with the housing provider in brackets:

– 80 new units of supportive interim housing (The Working Centre) opened in 2021

– 41 new units of supportive permanent housing (YW) opened in 2022

– 45 new units of supportive permanent housing (oneROOF) opened in 2022

– 10 new units of supportive permanent housing for homeless (YW Kitchener-Waterloo) will             open in late 2022.

– 43 new units of supportive permanent housing (Indwell) will open in 2023

– a new permanent housing project for Indigenous people (Urban Native Wigwam Project) has recently broken ground

– a new 100-bed shelter (House of Friendship) will open this fall

All these projects are receiving capital and/or operating funding from the Region, and we are spending $150 million in 2022 alone on these and other initiatives to address homelessness.

While we are on track to meet our goal of 2,500 new homes, it is important that we continue to look for new opportunities to develop strategic alliances with community partners and the private sector to exceed this goal – local governments cannot do this alone. The issue of affordable housing and homelessness in not unique to Waterloo Region and is a challenge in most communities in the province and country. While this is a reality, it is no reason that Waterloo Region should be satisfied to “be like the rest.” We have the capacity and resolve within our Region to be a leader in providing more affordable housing and addressing the challenge of those who are homeless.

If I have the honour of being re-elected to Waterloo Regional Council, I commit myself to working towards creating more affordable housing and addressing the challenge of those who are homeless.

Re-elect JIM ERB …. a responsive, reliable, and respectful voice.