United Housing advocates for ‘housing first model’

By: CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

When it comes to Stratford’s housing crisis, leadership remains focused on supportive housing as the most cost-effective, empathetic strategy.

During a special council meeting on July 20, Kathy Vassilakos, vice president of United Housing, presented a report titled “Social and Financial Cost of Non-Permanent Shelter Systems for Addressing Homelessness,” detailing the pros and cons for different housing options.

Overall, as Vassilakos said, United Housing is supportive of a “housing first model,” while acknowledging that there is no silver bullet solution to the housing crisis. Supportive housing, shelter systems, and other government initiatives will all have a part to play.

“What I'm trying to remind everyone is that all of these components will have a place, right, in a coordinated system change, but we have to be ready to move away from some of that programming that hasn't been shown to be effective,” Vassilakos summed up. “… It has to flow together in a way that meets the needs of the individuals that are accessing those services. And that's just a long and complicated way for me to say that we probably all need a lot of different bits and pieces of this, but the main focus should be permanent supportive housing.”

On the housing spectrum, supportive housing is defined as housing with support services tied to help people live independently. Compared to shelter housing, it is by far the least used tool in the province for tackling homelessness. According to the report, out of the 27,138 shelter and housing spaces reported in the province, the majority are emergency shelter beds (65.2 per cent), with only 21.6 per cent categorized as supportive housing. Due to this discrepancy, there is only one supportive housing space for every 14 people, a statistic that United Housing called “a severe mismatch.”

The report noted that due to rising public pressure around the housing crisis, municipalities may put their investment into temporary shelters or tiny home communities; however, there is little evidence to suggest those options are effective in helping individuals reach permanent, stable housing.

The report petitions for the expansion of supportive housing in favour of non-permanent shelter systems.

“As supported by evidence, the most effective solution to homelessness in Perth-Huron and beyond is to provide more affordable housing, including supportive housing for our most vulnerable residents and other types of affordable housing to meet the growing demand,” the report reads. “The non-profit world is ready to work alongside both public and private sectors to accomplish this solution. (United Way Perth-Huron) encourages everyone to think about how they can contribute to the creation of more housing and be open to additional affordable units in a variety of neighbourhoods and communities across the region.

“While the pathway may be different for some people, the goal should always be to provide stable, permanent housing. Some may need temporary or permanent financial, medical and social supports, but our goal should always be a foundation that starts with safe, affordable, dignified housing. It is not only the most cost-effective strategy, but also the only proven strategy. Moreover, it is the most compassionate thing to do.”

After a question from Coun. Taylor Brisoce, Vassilakos went a step further and said there needs to be a national strategy with all players (municipal, provincial governments) integrated. Housing is not one of the defined responsibilities of municipalities, which complicates the issue.

“It's no different than the hospital. So they raised $35 million to build an MRI, then you can't cut a ribbon on it because there’s a technician that needs to run that,” Vassilakos said. “And we're stuck in that same sort of hot potato of different levels of government. And until you can get everyone sort of doing their part that they're responsible (for), it's challenging.”

No decision was made at the council meeting, save for council receiving the report for information. The full report can be read at https://tinyurl.com/yxs5enf8.

As noted by André Morin, chief administrative officer with the City of Stratford, the city has committed $5 million to build 12 units of supportive housing. Representatives with the city are waiting to meet with the province for operational funding.

In 2024, there were 81,500 known individuals experiencing homelessness in Ontario, according to the province – a 25 per cent increase since 2022.

Locally, as of May 2026, there were 128 households experiencing homelessness: 103 single adults, 14 youth aged 16-24 and 12 families. Thirty-five were unsheltered, 105 were experiencing chronic homelessness and 16 identified as Indigenous.

Across Perth County, there were 762 households on the centralized waitlist for social housing.