Overview of the Issue
Housing is a basic need and has been identified through international law as a basic human right. A lack of stable housing severely impacts a person’s ability to survive and be successful in other areas of life. Homelessness may lead to poor health, unemployment and crime which translate into huge costs both financially and socially within communities. Homelessness not only contributes to the deterioration of an individual’s health but to the health of the overall community.
- Social Services, Region of Waterloo, 2004
Problem:
There is an increasing rate of homelessness and housing insecurity. Human rights are consistently being ignored in regards to access to the basic necessities of life such as food and shelter. There exists a physical division between the large university population and exposure to the inequalities of homelessness and poverty in the region.
Solution:
It is our goal to bring about awareness of the inequalities that exist in our community in order to create change and create equal opportunities to health, education, shelter, food and employment.
Action Plan:
Out in the Cold was started at the University of Waterloo in 2007 as an event to raise awareness about the inequalities of opportunity in the local Waterloo Region. Since then, three “Out in the Cold” events have been held on the University of Waterloo campus (March 2007, November 2007, November 2008), raising awareness as well as several thousand dollars for local organizations in the community.
This year, Out in the Cold is expanding and will be hosted at the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto. The main event will involve participants collecting pledges to spend the night outside from 7:00pm on November 20th until 7:00am on November 21st. There will be a speaker at 7:00pm followed by a kickoff to the main event.
Prior to the main event, the Out in the Cold committee will be promoting the issue of homelessness and poverty in our area through various means such as public speaking, information booths, movie nights and other events deemed relevant to our cause. All proceeds from the event will go to organizations dedicated to front-line services for individuals coping with homelessness, housing developments, and/or homelessness advocacy.
Highlights from the Greater Toronto Area
- 552,000 Toronto households have incomes below the poverty line
- 250,000 households pay more than 30 per cent of their incomes on rent
- 71,000 households are now on the municipal waiting list for affordable social housing, and
- 31,985 homeless individuals (including 4,779 children) stayed in a Toronto shelter at least once during 2002.
- Toronto Report Card on Housing and Homelessness, 2003
-On October 28, 1998, Toronto City Council adopted a call from the TDRC to declare homelessness a national disaster
- Use of various emergency services is roughly 10 times more expensive than the provision of housing with support services on a per diem basis
- Homelessness has been growing rapidly, almost six times faster than the overall population growth
- Wellesley Institute, The Blueprint to End Homelessness in Toronto, 2006
