A city program that provides grants for eligible residents who are behind on their rental payments is getting a 30 per cent increase, allocating a total of $10.8 million from the city’s budget in rental aid. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, where she made the announcement, that the boost in funding will help 2,800 households this year, about 600 more than last year.
Dr. Andrew Boozary, founding executive director of the Gattusco Centre for Social Medicine, stood by her, having recently launched a $1 million donor-funded program himself —the first of its kind in Canada— covering rent costs for patients at risk of being evicted. Boozary made a point of stating how intrinsically linked low mortality rates are to housing instability.
“People who are chronically unhoused live half as long as the general public,” Boozary noted, citing a recent study by Toronto Public Health that found that unhoused women are dying younger, living to 36 years of age on average.
Chow said as part of her ‘affordability budget,’ the city is investing substantially in renters. New data from Ontario’s municipalities shows nearly 85,000 people are living without housing province-wide, up 7.9 per cent from last year. The report said income supports for those unhoused continues to increase, but it has not kept pace as the demand for stable housing options grows.