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While thousands in Windsor-Essex struggle to find affordable housing, a national conference hosted in Windsor his week heard many local residential units sit vacant.
The affordable housing crisis in Windsor can’t be solved with a single “silver bullet” approach, Habitat for Humanity Canada president and CEO Julia Deans said Wednesday.
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Deans, joined by hundreds of housing advocates at the non-profit organization’s national housing conference this week at Caesars Windsor, told the Star there is a huge shortage of affordable housing.
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“(We) need to be open to solutions that we didn’t see in the past,” said Deans. “That may mean thinking about how many homes should be on a single lot — which I know is an issue in Windsor.
“It may be devoting money to housing in a way that we haven’t done before.”
According to the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation, the country needs 22 million new housing units by 2030 to achieve affordability for everyone in Canada. Ontario is currently short an estimated nearly two million units.
The biggest barrier to getting homes built, the conference heard, is cost and the time it takes for planning, approvals, and permits.
As of 2022, the Windsor Essex Central Housing Registry waitlist had 6,300 applicants seeking affordable housing — representing an increase of approximately 84 per cent from 2016.
Applicants experiencing homelessness accounted for 419 of the eligible people on the waitlist.
Deans said there are students who can’t find a place to live, while others are moving away for housing elsewhere.
“It’s putting a lot of pressure on people who want to live here and own homes in a community they’ve lived in forever,” said Deans, who visited Windsor several times over the last year.
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“And then you’re seeing it in your service and job vacancies, where people can’t afford to live in the community they work. Those are pretty big problems.”
Fiona Coughlin, Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex executive director and CEO, said while the federal and provincial governments tackle the lack of housing, her team focuses on creating pathways to homeownership for people who need a hand up, not a handout.
“There are a lot of different non-profit housing agencies working across the city to address the housing crisis,” said Coughlin. “We applaud every one of them because not every model is perfect for every person, but we need to work collaboratively.”
Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex launched a program last year to speed up repairs and bring existing affordable housing units back onto the market.
Coughlin said units across the city sit vacant while a 6,300-name waiting list grows.
“We are partnering with non-profits to get those units turned over and into livable units,” said Coughlin.
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The Windsor branch has built 85 homes in Windsor-Essex and restored 30 units since the organization’s inception in 1994.
Over 200 advocates from 45 Habitat for Humanity branches from across the country are taking part in the national event in Windsor. The housing conference wraps up Friday.
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