Prince Edward County is calling on the provincial and federal government to prevent a pending loss of funding for social support services.
During Tuesday’s council meeting, Councillor Sam Branderhorst introduced a motion calling for the upper levels of government to continue funding Service Mangers and District Social Service Administration Boards at the level they are currently funded.
Funding for these systems is currently in jeopardy due to a dispute between the federal and provincial governments over how to count community housing units in the National Housing Strategy Action Plan. The federal government is preparing to cut $355 million in funding due to the disagreement. The loss of funding could result in the loss of critical social and housing support services for vulnerable populations.
This cut means that funding for Prince Edward and Lennox and Addington social services will be reduced by $936,600.
Councillor Branderhorst said the funding helps to support vital social support programs.
“Individuals in our community are having an incredibly hard time making everything meet on the money that they currently have, and it is not getting easier,” said Councillor Branderhorst. “We have an increasing amount of homeless that we are in need to support and through these programs getting cut, it just means that that number has a potential to grow.”
The motion was approved unanimously, and a letter will be sent to the provincial and federal ministers of housing, urging that the funding be continued at the current level.
