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Where's Home Series

Where's Home 2006: A Picture of Housing Needs in Ontario (2006)
This latest in a series of reports co-produced by ONPHA and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, Ontario Council finds that there aren't enough apartments available in Ontario, and those that are available are unaffordable for the average worker. Read the media release. A quick glance Fact Sheet is also available.

Where's Home? A Picture of Housing Needs in Ontario (2005) Report released Sept. 12, 2005 by ONPHA and CHFC-Ontario. Seismic changes in the Ontario housing market over the last 6 years – including lowered interest rates and the recent rise in rental vacancy rates – have had little to no impact on the desperate shortage of affordable rental housing. Read the media release.

Where's Home? 2004, A Picture of Housing Needs in Ontario Report released July 21, 2004 by ONPHA and CHFC-Ontario finds that despite a recent rise in rental vacancy rates in several of the 21 Ontario municipalities profiled, more than one-half million Ontarians are without affordable housing. Read media releases about report and about the surprising change in Ontario's tightest rental markets.

Where's Home? 2001 Update Ontario-wide changes, as well as data from 21 municipalities. Download the PDF document or read the Media Release.

Where's Home? 2000 Update The second annual update of data on vacancy rates and average rent increases for the 21 Where's Home cities and regions.

Where's Home?: A Picture of Housing Need (1999) in Ontario proves that homelessness is not just a big city problem. This 1999 study, jointly sponsored by ONPHA and the Co-operative Housing Federation - Ontario Region, studied 11 Ontario cities, 8 in depth: Hamilton, Barrie, Peterborough, Ottawa, North Bay, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto and Peel.

Where's Home? Part II, released in November, 1999, extended the research of Where's Home?, creating detailed housing need profiles for 13 more cities and regions: Cornwall, Durham, Guelph, Kingston, London, Muskoka, Owen Sound, Sarnia, St. Catharines-Niagara, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins and Windsor. Where's Home? Part II was commissioned by the Housing Again website.

Where's Home? 1999 Update The first annual update of data on vacancy rates and average rent increases for the 21 Where's Home cities and regions.

Other Resources

Invest or Subsidize: Comparative Subsidy Cost of Non-Profit and Private Market Units Rent Supplements in Ottawa 1978-2004 by Steve Pomeroy compares the relative long term subsidy costs of traditional non-profit housing with temporary private sector rent supplement contracts and shows that permanent affordable non-profit housing is a best buy for taxpayers.

American study (2005) shows beneficial effect of subsidized housing on child poverty. Read the summary or the full article.

Catch Us Before We Fall Report on Youth Homelessness by Toronto Youth Cabinet, March 2005 names "lack of access to affordable housing in safe communities, close to services and support systems" as the number one problem.

National Coalition on Housing and Homelessness reacts to the Federal Budget in a March 9, 2005 letter to Martin, Fontana and Goodale.

First Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa, 2005 found that 8,664 people were homeless and stayed in a shelter in 2004.

Read ONPHA's January 12, 2005 presentation to new Canadian Housing Framework Consulation.

National Coalition on Housing and Homelessness' January 5, 2005 letter to Martin, Fontana and Goodale

Finding Room: Policy Options for a Canadian Rental Housing Strategy (2004)

The Daily Bread Food Bank has released "Somewhere to Live or Something to Eat: Housing Issues of Food Bank clients in the GTA" (August, 2004).

Homeless women in Toronto are dying at 10 times the rate of other women between 18 and 44, according to a study released in the April 13, 2004 edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Mayor's Affordable Housing Summit Hightlights presents the ideas and solutions that came forward during the Summit (February 2004).

Poverty by Postal Code (2004) is a United Way report that shows poverty in Toronto neighbourhoods has dramatically intensified, especially in the inner suburbs.

Shared Learnings on Homelessness is a bilingual Web site offering practical tools, resources and information sharing for frontline staff, managers and volunteers working to prevent or reduce homelessness in their communities.

David Crombie's presentation at the November 28, 2003 "Summit" meeting attended by Ontario’s elected Liberal representatives from the provincial and federal levels of government echoes ONPHA’s continuing plea for action on affordable rental housing, supportive housing, rent supplements, and the regeneration and repair of social housing.

The City of Toronto Report Card on Housing and Homelessness 2003 : Despite Toronto's strong economy, many people in need of affordable housing are being left behind.

"Enough Talk"—An Action Plan for the Toronto Region (April 2003), created by the Toronto City Summit Alliance, envisions a vibrant and humane city.

"Towards a New National Housing Strategy" (Sept. 8, 2003) ONPHA's Federal Pre-Budget Consultation submission to the House of Commons Committee on Finance.

"Gimme Shelter! Homelessness and Canada's Social Housing Crisis" (June 2003), published by the Centre for Social Justice.

Affordable Housing in Canada: In Search of a New Paradigm (June 2003), TD Economics calls on policy makers across the country to develop a new approach to addressing the problem of affordable housing "...one that situates the problem in a larger economic and social context."

Affordable, Available, Achievable: Practical Solutions to Affordable Housing Challenges (April 2003) Coming from a business perspective, this Toronto Board of Trade report describes how the supply of affordable housing affects the success of all businesses, helping to determine whether or not companies and employees locate in the city. A lack of affordable housing can lead to a host of other, more serious social and economic problems.

Ivey School Students Find Homelessness is Bad for Business (2003). A research team at Western University's Ivey Business School found that homelessness costs the city $68 million per year in lost economic development, health-care costs, and costs associated with crime. The study makes the case that social action is not just good public relations, but also improves the bottom line.

Ontario Pre-Budget Consultations (Jan. 29, 2003) Presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. ONPHA urgently recommends additional provincial funding for permanent affordable rental housing which is carefully targeted to those most in need.

ONPHA's Submission on the Social Union Framework Oct. 21, 2002. ONPHA speaks out on Canada's Social Union Framework and the future of affordable Housing.

An open letter to Federal Cabinet Ministers from Ontario regarding supportive housing (May 22, 2002)

ONPHA's Response to the Federal/Provincial Housing Ministers Meeting - Our analysis of the November 30, 2001 Announcement and what you can do.

Open Letter to Paul Martin re: 2002 Budget from the National Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (November 2001), singed by Marion Pardy, Moderator of the United Church of Canada

Pre-Budget Submission by the National Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (October 2001) ONPHA is a member of this coalition, which recently presented to the Standing Committee on Finance

Read ONPHA’s pre-budget presentation to the Ontario Legislature’s Finance Committee, February 28, 2002, ONPHA's presentation to the Federal Government Finance Committee on October 15, 2001 as well as our pre-budget submission on federal funding for housing.

Building Foundations for a Successful Housing Partnership, (February, 2001) published by the Canadian Housing Renewal Association. A brief paper outlining the key elements that should form the basis for the proposed Federal Affordable Rental Housing Program.

The Toronto Report Card on Homelessness (February, 2001) How can so many people be destitute in a city as rich as ours? This follow-up report to the Mayor's Homelessness Action Task Force report, Taking Responsibility for Homelessness seeks to address that question. Includes statistics on the state of homelessness in Toronto, current initiatives to reduce homelessness, an analysis of the efforts made so far, and recommendations for action.

Federal Budget 2001: FCM, A National Affordable Housing Strategy, October, 2000. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities offers detailed, costed recommendations for a Flexible Capital Grant Investment Program, Measures to Attract New Investment in Rental Housing, and Rental Assistance Measures.

Mayor's Homelessness Action Task Force, Taking Responsibility for Homelessness Also known as the Golden Report, this seminal Toronto study proposed highly practical recommendations for all levels of government.

Information Online

Shared Learnings on Homelessness is a bilingual Web site offering practical tools, resources and information sharing for frontline staff, managers and volunteers working to prevent or reduce homelessness in their communities.

The Canadian Housing Information Centre, a service of CMHC, is the most extensive housing resource library in Canada.

The BC Homelessness Research Virtual Library provides easy access to homelessness research information from British Columbia and the Yukon.