Canada’s mayors, at a housing conference in Toronto have put the challenge to the Trudeau government to invest $12.6 billion, of an available $20 billion towards affordable housing. Mayor Don Iveson told the audience the same message he’s given in Edmonton annually when city council sets the budget. That money spent on supportive housing will save even more money for the province in other services.
He gave as an example, the story of a residential school survivor, who has mental health and addictions problems, who spent more than 400 days in an acute care bed at the Royal Alex Hospital.
“One of the nurses who runs that ward said ‘we could have put this gentleman up at the Fairmont for less money with 24 hour supervision than it costs to keep him at the hospital for 400 days.’ Now that’s an extreme case but there are hundreds of people in our city in that hospital who spend weeks or months and occasionally years for permanent supportive housing.”
Source: Canada’s mayors want $12.6 billion for supportive and social housing 630 CHED
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