Not long ago, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the waitlist for affordable and social housing in Hastings County had around 2,000 households on it.
Now there are 3,200 households on the waitlist.
Belleville Councillor Garnet Thompson told a meeting of the Hastings County Community and Human Services Committee that he was alarmed by such a big increase in such a short time.
“With the government’s funding we’ll never eliminate that. Unfortunately the numbers will keep climbing unless we build thousands of homes.”
According to the county, 3,200 households translates to about 6,400 individuals waiting for social housing. Some of those people wait for an affordable unit for three years or more.
