Media Release: National Housing Day 2024

November 22, 2024 – National Housing Day is held annually on November 22 to recognize the important work done by partners across Canada to improve access to housing.

The District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB) is spending this National Housing Day reflecting on the improvements made to the housing service system in the District of Thunder Bay over the last decade.

In 2014, TBDSSAB implemented a 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan which wrapped up in 2024. The Housing Services Act, 2011 requires Service Managers to develop a 10-year plan and identify objectives and targets related to housing and homelessness, as well as actions proposed to meet those objectives. All objectives of the 10-year plan have now been achieved.

With the help of community partners, TBDSSAB staff, and the support of our Board of Directors, access to housing looks a lot different today than it did in 2014. Some accomplishments over the last 10 years include:

  • Expanded private landlord rent supplement and portable housing benefit programs to support a total of 648 individuals in 2024.
  • In the past 10 years, TBDSSAB has funded a total of 408 new housing units, including the development of 173 transitional and supported housing units and the creation of 235 rent-geared-to-income and affordable housing units, most in partnership with not-for profit organizations.
  • Implementation of a By-Name List in 2021 to enumerate homelessness. The BNL includes 953 individuals identified in the District of Thunder Bay.
  • Increased supports for TBDSSAB tenants through the expansion of Tenant Support Worker (TSW) team.
  • Creation of an eviction prevention policy for TBDSSAB tenants to support successful tenancies.
  • Strategies in place to ensure existing housing stock is maintained, including all 4,349 rent-geared-to-income (RGI) community housing units. That total includes 2,471 direct owned units as well as operating funding for units via not-for-profit housing providers.

For more information about TBDSSAB’s Housing and Homelessness Prevention programs, please see the attached Impact Highlights document.

This National Housing Day, we give our thanks to our community partners in the housing and homelessness prevention sector. Thank you for your dedication, compassion, and willingness to collaborate to help meet the basic human needs of the people in our communities.

Our work is by no means over, but we are grateful to be part of a community that is willing to come together to lift others up.

Quotes:

“Over the past few years, TBDSSAB has seen a lot of changes to the housing and homelessness sector. The successes in the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Strategy point to TBDSSAB’s flexibility and willingness to adapt services to better meet the needs of the people we serve. National Housing Day is a good opportunity to look back on all that’s been accomplished and let the successes sink in.”
– Brian Hamilton, Chair, TBDSSAB

“National Housing Day is an opportunity for us to reflect on the housing and homelessness system as a whole, as well as the people who keep it operating. As service system manager, we know that the system works as we see the improvements in people’s lives as we provide support, because of community partners who are willing to do the work with us.”
– Ken Ranta, CEO, TBDSSAB

 

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