Affordable housing getting tougher to find in Sudbury

It's getting tougher and tougher to find affordable housing in Sudbury.

That's because several low-rental buildings have closed . . . or are about to close, says Raymond Landry, coordinator of the city's Homelessness Network.

The network is a group of six local agencies that work together to provide direct services to those who are chronically homeless. It has worked for the past 13 years in a contract with the City of Greater Sudbury.

Landry says it's quite a challenge to help people find affordable housing.

"The cost of living and the price of housing and rentals keep moving forward and upwards, while the incomes of those who are poor are stagnant," said Landry.

"For example, housing costs in Sudbury for a one-bedroom apartment have gone up 30 per cent in the past 10 years while personal incomes have only gone up about 10 per cent," he explained.

Landry says many residents who end up being displaced when a rental building closes have to go to a local shelter while they look for new permanent housing.

Landry says the closing of the Kingsway Hotel in 2009 was a major blow to low-income housing.

"The recent renovations at 241 Lloyd Street, and now the closure at 146 Larch Street--all of these happen at a time when there's no new developments going on based on affordable housing and rent-geared-to-income spaces," said Landry.

"It's generally adding pressure for those who are impoverished, have low incomes, and can't afford to live in Sudbury," he said.

"Any loss of low-income or affordable housing spaces is a detriment to the population we seek to help," said Landry.

He says our governments need to address poverty in general. "We need to really support all our citizens, especially those who are impoverished, by raising everyone's income, something like a basic living wage," said Landry.

Landry offers another strategy--to encourage developers to build more low-income housing.

"But basically, our provincial and local governments need to look at the housing stock they have and see if there's any money to be pulled in to develop more affordable housing," he said.

Landry added that rent supplements or rent subsidies would also go a long way in dealing with the affordability issue for housing.