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Faith groups urged to be ‘really bold’ on behalf of poor

By Murray MacAdam

Michael Shapcott speaks at the ISARC Religious Leader's Forum
Michael Shapcott, a leading Canadian expert on housing issues, speaks at the ISARC Religious Leaders’ Forum on Nov. 27. Photos by Michael Hudson

About 60 people, some from as far away as Thunder Bay and London, Ont., attended a recent forum in Toronto on the challenge of ending homelessness. The participants included Anglicans and other people of faith, low-income people, service providers and politicians.

The forum, organized by the Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC), opened with a powerful reflection by Imam Dr. Abdul Hai Patel. He noted that Islam’s central religious text, the Quran, affirms that the poor have a right to the wealth of the rich. But as chair of Toronto’s Flemingdon Park food bank, he sees a growing hunger crisis, with 4,500 families relying on it.

Michael Shapcott, one of Canada’s leading experts on housing issues and a member of Holy Trinity, Toronto, noted that the number of people on waiting lists for affordable housing in Toronto has soared 31 per cent to 168,000 individuals in 2014, up from 128,000 in 2008.

“We’ve got a serious problem that’s gotten worse,” he said. He linked the shortage of affordable housing with rising inequality, along with cuts to social programs and tax cuts for affluent Canadians.

He zeroed in on sharp cuts by the federal government for affordable housing. The number of affordable housing units subsidized by the federal government is slated to drop from 626,000 in 2007 to 492,000 in 2017. Unless these cuts are reversed, he said, tenants faced with higher rents “are going to struggle for a few months, go to the food bank, then get evicted.”

Participants discuss homelessness at the ISARC Religious Leader's Forum on Nov. 27.
Participants discuss issues of poverty and homelessness at the ISARC Religious Leaders’ Forum on Nov. 27.

He said a comprehensive housing strategy must include bold targets with sustained funding, new affordable and accessible housing units, and legislative changes. “It’s not rocket science,” he said. “We have the resources and technical ability.”

He urged faith groups not to be afraid when pushing for solutions to homelessness. “We need to be really bold, not just pushing for one-off measures. Groups like ISARC are mighty voices.”

The government of Ontario has pledged to eliminate homelessness as part of its next five-year poverty reduction program. However, it has not allocated additional resources to achieve this goal, nor has it set out a timeline.

Liberal MPP Lou Rinaldi told the forum that his government has not been doing enough to help the homeless. However, the government’s first five-year poverty reduction plan has led to real benefits, he said, including 47,000 children and families being uplifted from poverty, with another 70,000 children in low-income families now eligible for free dental services though the Healthy Smiles program.

An afternoon panel outlined how an innovative program called STEP Home, in Waterloo Region, has helped more than 500 formerly homeless people find housing, through collaboration among service providers, homeless people and outreach workers. The program also addresses the critical issue of loneliness among homeless individuals. Funding comes from municipal, provincial and federal programs. Besides improving people’s lives, a local study showed that the program is cost effective: for every dollar invested, there is a savings of $9.45 in reduced policing, ambulance, hospital and other costs linked to homelessness.

“If we come together with passion around a common goal, amazing things can happen,” said STEP Home outreach worker Katie McDougall.

The forum wrapped up with suggestions for action, including urging participants to ask their local MPPs to support a Private Member’s Bill introduced in the Ontario Legislature by MPP Peter Milczyn, called the Planning Statute Law Amendment Act. It would give Ontario municipalities the power to require developers to allocate some units in new housing developments to affordable housing. The measure, called inclusionary zoning, has been implemented in hundreds of U.S. municipalities.