Homelessness is a major problem in the Quinte Region, and we now have a general idea of how much money it would take to properly tackle it.
Hastings County’s Community and Human Services Committee agreed to recommend that County Council back the Town of Ajax’s resolution to urge the province to provide more support.
Estimates are that it would take 23 million dollars annually for everyone to get help. Right now, the County spends around 6 million dollars a year tackling homelessness.
Hastings County had 243 individuals and families experiencing homelessness as of the last count. Across the province, an estimated 85,000 people were without a home last year (increase of about 7.8-per cent).
That number is about the number of people in Belleville and Prince Edward County combined.
Hastings County needs more money to get more people in need out of the cold. The weather over the past two weeks has been hazardous for many of us, but it can be deadly for the “unhoused”, with the wind chill overnight hitting minus 27. Winter is here, and it can be deadly without shelter.
Homelessness is a massive problem, and it can seem unsolvable, but the solution isn’t just to wait until another brutally cold winter night or two decreases the number of people needing help in the worst way possible.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
