United Way Perth-Huron announces new non-profit focused on affordable housing

The United Way Perth-Huron is launching a community-driven development corporation that will focus on new affordable housing in the Huron-Perth region while working with partners to increase and manage the local affordable rental supply.

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In the works for the past year and a half, this United Housing initiative – announced on Nov. 22 as part of National Housing Day – will serve as a non-profit developer and operator of affordable rental housing, but will also take a lead role in helping current landlords by fundraising, renovating and operating units so buildings don’t sit unused. In addition, United Housing will partner with developers to help them meet government requirements for affordable housing units and create workforce housing so people can afford to live in the community where they work.

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“Its role specifically will be to lead, develop and operate mixed affordability housing for our community,” United Way Perth-Huron executive director Ryan Erb said. “What we’re looking for is an organization that can take that prominent leadership role and make sure we’re working towards things that, maybe without that push and that drive, wouldn’t happen in our community.

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“Then, it could be a substantive partner with all levels of government, a substantive partner with our builders in our community and others to make sure that we’ve got the housing we need.”

Erb said the need for a non-profit housing corporation is a direct response to the local housing crisis after the United Way was unable to bring similar organizations from outside the region to the table to help relieve the pressure on the current market. Erb said there are people across the region experiencing homelessness or escaping violent situations who can’t afford an apartment. There are personal support workers, he added, who can’t live and work in the same community, as well as seniors forced to leave their homes who can’t afford anything in the rental market.

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“We are pleased to unveil the next evolution of our work on housing,” United Housing director Mitchell Rhodes said in a press release. “United Way Perth-Huron has been doing a lot in this space over the past three years because we want to build something special in our region. We know it will take time and effort for our community to solve homelessness, but we’re going to continue reaching out to partners and supporters to build a made-in-Perth-Huron solution that fits local needs.”

With several new affordable housing developments planned in communities like Stratford, Listowel, Exeter and Goderich, Erb and Rhodes said United Housing needs to raise $543,000 from the community to help lay the groundwork and begin construction within the next two to three years.

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“We’re moving now from … early stage planning to what we would call pre-development,” Erb said. “Over the next two years, we’re marching toward our first development projects, and there are some costs associated with those projects to get them shovel ready. … We also have to keep the lights on at the organization over that period of time and continue to have staff who are focused on writing grants and finding opportunities to partner with municipalities and others. …I’m hopeful. in a year’s time. I can say, ‘Here’s the first project.’ Until then, I can say we are working on a couple of unique things. We’re working on a project in Stratford that would have about 12 units potentially in partnership with a property owner … (and) there’s also a greenfield development that’s currently slated to be 60 units.”

More information about the United Housing initiative can be found online at perthhuron.unitedway.ca/unitedhousing.

For the purposes of United Housing, affordable housing will be defined as taking up no more than 30 per cent of an individual or family’s income every month.

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