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As temperatures drop throughout November and December, the City of Toronto's Affordable Housing Office will host a series of public consultations as a part of a five-year review of the Affordable Housing Action Plan 2010-2020 (HOT). The City is looking for public feedback on the effectiveness of current effort, and input on how current affordable housing and homelessness initiatives can be improved. In addition, the consultations will provide an opportunity to discuss the roles of provincial, federal, and private sector actors in improving Toronto Community Housing stock and addressing homelessness.
The City will hold four public consultation meetings: Monday, November 16 in Scarborough; Thursday, November 19 in North York; Tuesday, November 24 in Downtown Toronto; and Thursday, December 3 in Etobicoke (locations shown below). Light refreshments will be served, and TTC tokens will be provided on an as-needed basis. Interested members of the public are encouraged to RSVP, and to forward all suggestions and concerns by email or in writing.
The Affordable Housing Office is also directing attention to the results of the Close the Housing Gap campaign, a ten-year, City-backed funding initiative that has brought an investment of $864 million. This amount is reported to be equal to one-third of the $2.6 billion in additional capital repairs Toronto Community Housing faces in the next decade, with the city imploring the federal and provincial governments to "close the gap" by contributing the remainder. Councillor Ana Bailão's video provides a quick overview of the campaign:
Lastly, the Affordable Housing Office has reported on the benefits of investing in TCH revitalization, including the creation of 222,000 employment years worth of new jobs, the spurring of $5 billion in private investment, and the generation of $4.5 billion in federal and provincial taxes, according to a study by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis.
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For a more in-depth look at local issues dealing with homelessness, the Toronto-shot documentary, Lowdown Tracks, created by Emmy-Award-winning director Shelley Saywell and Juno-Award-winning musician Lorraine Segato—and recently featured on UrbanToronto—offers an intimate inside look at a pressing but little-publicized issue.
The documentary will premiere on TVO on November 14 at 9pm, and will be re-broadcast several times over the coming week (a full schedule is available here). The film will also be shown as part of the Regent Park Film Festival, with a screening at Daniels Spectrum on November 21.
