GUELPH – A small group of Guelph and Wellington County residents concerned about rising rates of homelessness have banded together with hopes of working towards a solution.
That solution, they say, is “to encourage the construction of deeply affordable housing with embedded multi-disciplinary care.”
So they’re aiming to support “projects that provide stable housing with affordable rent and embedded care programs designed to keep folks from becoming a homeless statistic.”
The group, called MyOwnPlace Guelph, has five board members. It first formed in June and has since incorporated as a not-for-profit.
Chair Lyn Marfisi said the group is committed to getting Guelph and Wellington County to pay more attention to people at risk of becoming homeless, which “takes more than a roof and a bed.
“Our emphasis is on housing that has both deeply affordable rent and has integrated assistance programs on-site that help tenants maintain dignity and develop independence.”
The group is currently applying for charitable status and is working with other groups to support community efforts helping people at risk of homelessness.
Elbert van Donkersgoed said the board members have a range of experience “doing mostly modest things for those in need,” including with food banks, meal servings and the Mission Thrift Store.
Van Donkersgoed is not a board member but helps the group with facilitation, including incorporating, writing the operating bylaw and applying for charitable status.
He has a background in law, media and agriculture and has experience with the Canadian Food Grains Bank, which works to send food to developing countries. He lived in Drayton for about 30 years, until 1996.
He said the group members want there to be more stable, maintainable homes for people in need.
“There’s way too much emphasis on just providing beds,” van Donkersgoed said, but addressing the homeless crisis needs to go beyond that.
“Not enough attention is being paid to that in Guelph and Wellington County and so this group [will] put some energy into at least raising the profile to encourage all the players to create real homes – stable homes and homes that have multidisciplinary care associated with them, so that folks that have various disabilities have a chance at a stable home.”
Van Donkersgoed said the group doesn’t have a definition for “deeply affordable” housing, but it varies from person to person.
“It has to be based on individuals’ income and individual’s needs and whatever agencies build good homes for these folks need to decide that on an individual basis,” he said.
It’s important to van Donkersgoed that tenants do pay something for rent, as he said making that contribution is one way to “be a real part of a community.”
In terms of care programs, van Donkersgoed said it would include support for mental and physical health, addiction, employment and education.
“In our minds it can be a whole range of things that are debilitating or disabilities for folks,” he said.
He added the group plan to start out by focusing just on drawing attention to the issue, and then progress to fundraising once they’re more established.
“Raising awareness comes first,” he said, which includes getting the message out to the community, churches and all levels of government that there is a serious need for deeply affordable housing with wrap-around supports.
Van Donkersgoed said they’re not yet sure where money will go once they start fundraising, but that they hope “to attract some agencies that are actually going to build the housing.
“When that happens we will try our best to contribute financially to those kinds of projects that provide real opportunities for homes for folks that need this kind of on-site care available to them in order to have stable homes.”
He expects the group’s financial contributions to focus mostly on paying for that on-site care.
To support MyOwnPlace Guelph email info@myownplaceguelph.ca.
