The County of Lambton's housing services department is taking a proactive approach to fill gaps in available funding resources for affordable housing projects to move forward.
Applications from non-profit organizations are currently being accepted for the Affordable Housing Seed Funding Program to assist with the planning costs of new projects.
Housing Services Manager Melisa Johnson said during a previous meeting this summer, county council declared housing a top priority for the area.
However, agencies were having trouble launching their housing projects due to a lack of seed funding. Johnson said there was a former seed funding program offered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation but that fund is now fully depleted.
"A lot of non-profit agencies did not have the funds to complete the necessary groundwork to get an affordable housing project launched so this program is going to fill that need," Johnson said.
The program still needs to be approved by county council and will be on the agenda for the meeting on September 6.
If approved, the program will provide up to $200,000 per approved project, up to a maximum of $500,000 in 2023.
"Council committee did receive the report in August and it was supported by committee but it does need to be approved by full council before the program can be launched," Johnson said. "But given the crisis in the community, we did want to make agencies aware of this program so that they can start working on their applications."
If given the green light, Johnson said the program would be funded through the affordable funding reserve created by council two years ago.
"As part of our annual budget process, they do put funding into this reserve," said Johnson.
Applications and supporting documents by non-profit agencies must be submitted by Friday, September 22.
In order to be eligible, residential projects must be within Lambton County and must contain a minimum of five affordable housing units.
Successful applicants will be notified by mid-October.
Full program details and the application form can be found on the county's website.
