Grey County has weighed in on this week's Association of Municipalities of Ontario's (AMO) report on homelessness, saying significant investment and coordination across all three levels of government is needed to solve the issue.
In a media release, the County said a point in time count in 2024 revealed 375 individuals experiencing homelessness in Grey County. The waitlist for subsidized housing has also grown from 1,517 in 2022 to 2,230 in 2024.
Grey County has been putting funds toward housing support, investing $6.55 million since 2022 in projects like the purchase and renovation of a property in Owen Sound for supportive housing and the purchase of a former motel for short-term emergency shelter.
But citing the AMO's report, a majority of the funding for housing and homelessness in Ontario last year came from municipalities.
"Grey County cannot end chronic homelessness without significant contributions from the federal and provincial governments," said Grey County Warden Andrea Matrosovs. "We need a fundamentally new approach that prioritizes long-term housing solutions over temporary emergency measures, and adequate funding support to create solutions for our county’s rural and town communities."
Moving forward, the County has committed $3 million to support Lutheran Social Services Owen Sound with an affordable housing build in Owen Sound, as well as working to build 40 units of affordable housing in Dundalk. Both projects are contingent on provincial funding.