YORKTON — The need for ‘affordable’ housing in Yorkton is significant, says Andrew Sedley, executive director with SIGN.
Sedley added that ‘affordable’ has come to mean housing that costs no more than one-third of monthly income.
But even that one-third is an issue for the lowest income earners, or those living on the street.
Sedley said homelessness is sort of the visible tip of an iceberg of associated issues that complicate things.
“A lot of people struggle with addictions and mental health,” he said.
The ability to deal with those sort of problems becomes very difficult for people who are wondering “where am I going to stay tonight . . . Am I going to be warm,” continued Sedley, adding that takes the circle back to the need for housing.
Sedley said a group has been put together in the city to seek out housing options – an effort that includes looking for funding to build new units.
“We’re advocating and speaking with various levels of government,” he said, adding it’s important everyone understand “homelessness is not just in big cities. It’s a rural issue too.”
That funding has not been easy to access – with previous applications for federal dollars not being approved, said Sedley, who added they are looking at a new application.
So how many units are needed?
“A lot,” was Sedley’s quick answer. Then adding “twenty-eight was what we applied for in the past. That’s a minimum of what we need in the city.”
The vision for the 28-units goes beyond just being roofs over the heads of people, said Sedley. The idea would be to offer support services to those housed to help them deal with some of the associated issues in order for them to eventually gain employment, and eventually move on to other housing, leaving units for others in-need.
What the exact level of need is is something Sedley said they hope to get a better handle on through a 30-day survey through support service locations in the city.
The survey would have people seeking services at locations such as SIGN, the hospital emergency room and others in the city answering questions about their housing situation to create a community snapshot of needs, said Sedley.
The data would go a long way to strengthen a funding application, he added.
So an important next step in addressing homelessness and affordable housing needs in the city is the survey, said Sedley, adding they just need to access $25,000 somewhere to have it undertaken.
