I have to ask why only 400 if there is money allocated for 1800? Also I have to wonder how many generations are being raised in current housing projects and how many people in "transitional housing" have joined the rest of us in coping with rising taxes, utility bills, etc.
The wait for space that lasts for years
Right to housing goes unanswered as number seeking assisted units stays stuck above 67,000
Jim Byers
Toronto Star
The list of people waiting to get into subsidized housing in Toronto has the names of enough people to fill the Rogers Centre, city officials said yesterday.
As Torontonians settle in for the Christmas holidays, the general manager of the city's Housing Connections program said yesterday that tens of thousands of less fortunate residents are living in damp basements and rooming houses or in temporary shelters.
In some cases, they end up homeless, lying on cold and barren streets at night.
"Most people don't realize how many people can't afford housing in Toronto, and most people don't realize how long the wait list is for subsidized housing," said Michelle Haney-Kileeg.
"Many people will spend this holiday season in deplorable situations with little hope for improvement in the near future."
Haney-Kileeg said there are 67,335 people on the waiting list for city housing.
That's easily more than enough to fill the Rogers Centre to the roof or pack the Air Canada Centre for more than three nights.
Considering the majority of applications are filed by single mothers with dependant children, the number of people who desperately need housing is actually much higher, she said.
"The demand doesn't seem to waver," Haney-Kileeg told the Star.
"We've been in the 60,000 range for the waiting list for more than six years."
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