Chatham-Kent's director of housing services says there's an affordable housing crisis not only here, but across the province.
Shelley Wilkins says the situation in Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton and Elgin-St. Thomas is severe, while Windsor-Essex and London are in critical condition. She says people in Chatham waiting for affordable housing can wait anywhere from 18 months to three or more years. In Wallaceburg, the wait is between six months and two and a half years.
"Some people tend to think that's just a large urban problem but it's a huge problem all across the province, including many of our rural/urban mixed areas," says Wilkins.
Wilkins says the number of those needing affordable housing keeps growing.
"In Chatham-Kent as of December 31, we had 650 applicant households on our rent geared to income wait list and this number continues to climb in 2018," she says.
Wilkins says more and more people are finding it very difficult to buy a home and the affordable housing wait list keeps getting longer.
"It's a long time for families, seniors and individuals to be waiting to have an affordable place to live so they can afford things like groceries. If people are wondering why our food banks get used so much, this is a large part of the reason why," Wilkins says.
The average cost of a resale home in Chatham-Kent is $184,000.
Wilkins thanks Habitat For Humanity of Chatham-Kent for doing its part in helping with the housing problem.
