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York Region Alliance to End Homelessness
Q&A with Jane Wedlock, Coordinator
It’s one of the fastest growing regions in Canada, with a population of close to a million people. Known for sprouting subdivisions, outstanding recreation and entertainment facilities as well as vast green spaces, York Region is, as its tagline says, A Great Place to Live and Play. It’s hard to believe there is poverty and homelessness there. But a crisis is growing in York.
York Region is suffering from a severe lack of affordable housing and inadequate emergency shelter. The York Region Alliance to End Homelessness wants to increase the profile of affordable housing as a fundamental building block of a healthy community.
Tides Canada provides the operating infrastructure for the Alliance, reducing their day-to-day financial, legal and administrative details, and freeing up time to concentrate on the problems of homelessness.
Who are you and what do you do as an alliance?
We’re a broad coalition of social service agencies, faith, community, and government representatives that meet regularly to plan and coordinate services and supports and implement a strategic response to homelessness in York Region.
Who is homeless or at risk in York Region?
There are people who are absolutely homeless – living outside in fields or parks or their cars – and very visible. The hidden homeless cannot afford their own place and may be sharing substandard accommodation or regularly "couch surfing."
The marginally-housed are those at extreme risk; they are paying a large proportion of their income on shelter and could be one incident or one paycheque away from losing their housing. Homelessness impacts families, young people, women and men. Newcomers to Canada and people with disabilities or mental health issues can be particularly vulnerable.
What have you been able to achieve?
We’ve raised awareness about poverty and the lack of affordable housing in the York Region; initially we had enormous difficulty trying to convince people that we even had these issues in our community. And we’ve conducted a needs assessment with homeless women in the York Region.
