Some of the people on the front lines of the battle to save lives in the Quinte Region have new numbers worth celebrating.
Hastings County’s Community and Human Services committee just received a report showing that 175 individuals and families moved into supportive housing in 2025.
That’s a huge increase from the 111 move-ins they had in 2024, and 160 of those 175 were still house as of the end of last year, meaning they aren’t only moving in, they are staying.
It’s not all good news. The increase in move ins still leaves 256 people in the County’s database of people experiencing homelessness, but I can remember when we used to say that number was between 3 and 400, so it IS progress.
I would like to openly congratulate CAO Connor Dorey, who knows everything about this area from his previous time as the County’s Director of Community and Human Services to his (almost) three years now as CAO.
Social and supportive housing is a County-level responsibility, and also one of the biggest challenges of any local government. It’s vitally important work, helping people find a stable and affordable home against a backdrop of fiscal challenges, and sometimes mental and physical issues.
Make no mistake, their work saves lives. They help get people off the street and also help keep other families from being homeless in the first place. There is no glory to be had, and the battles they face in the trenches are very real.
Setbacks are frequent. There aren’t enough resources. The wait lists are long.
However, the lives they save have value. The hope they provide is priceless and the futures they help create are as magical as they are fragile and newly-formed.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
