This $75,000 grant will start the delivery of a Tenant Housing Services program for our new Affordable Housing Development in St. Catharines.
St. Catharines - For National Housing Day on November 22nd, Bethlehem Housing and Support Services paused to reflect on the challenges too many Canadians face in finding a safe and affordable place to call home. Across Canada, we are facing a housing crisis with an estimated 235,000 people experiencing homelessness each year. In Niagara, there are over 5,500 households on the waitlist for affordable housing … and this list is growing.
This is why the organization chose the groundbreaking ceremony that celebrates a new, affordable housing development in St. Catharines to announce the launch of its Tenant Housing Services office, made possible with the support of a $75,000 Seed grant made this summer by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
“This grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation will further enable Bethlehem Housing and Support Services to assist the most vulnerable in our community by promoting housing stability and preventing evictions.” – Jim Bradley, MPP for St. Catharines
Funds from the grant will pilot the delivery of a Tenant Housing Services program implemented through a new Housing Office in the Property Management department that will be located in the offices of the new building. The organization hopes to test and develop a focused tenancy support service program that will strengthen and maintain tenant-landlord relationships resulting in successful tenancies, housing stability for families and the prevention evictions and of homelessness.
This development is offering a made-in-Niagara solution to provide affordable rental housing and support services for individuals and families facing issues of homelessness, physical disability, mental health, domestic violence and family breakdown. Bethlehem Housing and Support Services is a multi-service organization serving the diversified needs of Niagara residents by offering support for individual growth through housing and other focused services. It helps people facing the issues of poverty, homelessness, abuse and family breakdown to rebuild their lives through in-house and community supports. Bethlehem Housing and Support Services is the only organization in the Niagara Region that offers supportive transitional and permanent housing for women, men and families.
An agency of the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is one of Canada’s largest granting foundations. With a budget of over $136 million, OTF awards grants to some 1,000 projects every year to build healthy and vibrant Ontario communities. www.otf.ca