United Way Greater Toronto and partners released

an important new report, Bringing Affordable Housing Home: An Action Plan for Housing Stability in Ontario, which includes seven solutions-focused recommendations to all levels of government to build and protect affordable and deeply affordable housing in Ontario. Following each recommendation are concrete steps – a blueprint for actualizing the recommendation – that if taken, can significantly contribute to our collective progress in growing housing stability in Ontario, particularly in partnership with the non-profit sector. The partners are Ontario for All, Ontario Nonprofit Network, Ontario Alliance to End Homelessness, and Canadian Centre for Housing Rights.

Nearly 400 nonprofit leaders from over 20 communities shared their ideas and priorities.

Key recommendations from the report: 

1. Making surplus lands and assets available for non-profit and co-operative housing providers.
2. Increasing investment and access to financing for affordable housing development.
3. Providing development incentives that prioritize non-profit housing organizations and establishes flexible programs that maximize the community housing sector’s capacity to compete in the housing market effectively
4. Long-term, stable funding from provincial and federal governments to maintain existing affordable housing
5. Offering housing stabilization, eviction prevention supports, and tenant protections
6. A dedicated approach by federal and provincial governments, in collaboration with Indigenous leaders and communities, to address housing and homelessness issues faced by Indigenous Peoples
7. Coordinating housing strategies and resource sharing across federal, provincial, and municipal levels.

Read more here, where you can also access information on how you can join the campaign and endorse the action plan.