Scott Robertson, Manager of Social Services for Prince Edward Lennox and Addington Social Services (PELASS), put homelessness in context at Council February 28.

PELASS counts 139 unhoused community members in the region, 39 of them in the County. 

“Generally, the real unhoused number is about three or four times what we see,” he noted. 

The underfunding is not saving the province any money.

“An unhoused person costs about $80,000 to $120,000 a year,” he said. “Most of that is consumed in healthcare costs and judicial costs.” 

In contrast, he added, a one-bedroom unit is about $28,000 a year.

“It’s cheaper to build housing and offer support for people who are unhoused,” he concluded. 

Housing assistance is one of the key services available through PELASS, but the social services agency doesn’t have the resources or the housing to meet the need.

There is a 5-to-8-year waiting list for one of its 115 Local Housing Corporation units in the County. 

“You can’t apply early. You have to be poor to apply. So if you apply today, you already can’t afford your housing,” Mr. Robertson said.

Underfunding is not saving any money.
An unhoused person costs the province $80,000 to $120,000 a year in 
healthcare, shelter, and judicial costs.
Meanwhile, a one-bedroom unit would cost about $28,000.

PELASS also provides financial assistance and guidance to non-profit housing providers, rent supplements to private landlords offering affordable units, and homelessness prevention benefits to individuals. 

“We’re always looking to expand the housing options for people,” he noted. This includes advocating for different funding models. 

The County funds 36 per cent of the total PELASS budget of $1.5 million, from property taxes. 

“I don’t think paying for community housing from property taxes is a great plan,” Mr. Robertson said, noting its vulnerability in times of economic recession. 

When asked by Councillor Brad Nieman how we can address the backlog and build more subsidized units, Mr. Robertson said they were waiting on the right funding stream from government.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily the role of the private market to create and manage affordable housing,” he said, adding that they’re “always looking for opportunities to build.”

Homelessness is disproportionately on the rise in rural Ontario. The Association of Municipalities reports rural homelessness has more than doubled in the past five years, increasing 148 percent since 2021. 

Ending chronic homelessness in the province would require an $11 billion investment over the next ten years. 

The report stresses that an investment in housing and homelessness prevention will reduce the costs incurred by hospitals, the judicial system, and emergency shelters. The cost of running shelters alone amounts to nearly $1 billion annually. 

County Housing Efforts

Affordable Housing Supervisor Elis Ziegler reported some of the AMO’s findings, along with an update on Prince Edward County initiatives to address the housing crisis.

Their report documented a series of coordinated priorities including early intervention, different housing models, and community engagement.

But as Mx. Ziegler noted, addressing the crisis requires advocating to upper levels of government on policy and funding.

“The cause of homelessness is two-fold,” Mx. Ziegler said. “One is that the senior levels of government got out of housing in the ’70s, whether co-op housing, affordable housing, rent-geared-to-income housing. 

“And the other is that our basic social safety net was gutted by 22 percent 25 years ago and has never been recouped.”

“Those are two very distinct and clear causes of homelessness that are outside of the scope of municipalities, particularly rural ones, to respond to.”

Nonetheless, the municipality is making affordable housing and homelessness prevention a priority. 

The County Housing Plan proposes 390 purpose-built affordable rental units by 2028. It also operates Leeward House, a transitional housing facility that has moved 11 residents out of homelessness since opening in 2024. 

The County offers guidance to tenants through the Housing Help line, and recently launched the Hoarding Action Response Team (HART) to help people maintain housing. 

“The advocacy to the senior levels of government needs to be about playing 52 pick-up with the same pot of money that they distribute to all the ministries,” Mx. Ziegler said. “It’s a matter of asking them to spend the same pot of money differently.”