York Region’s newly formed housing committee vows to take some immediate action to address skyrocketing rates of chronic homelessness.
The housing and homelessness committee of York Region council — composed of the region's mayors and York Region CEO — met for the first time May 15, with plans to identify and advocate for solutions to a growing crisis. The committee also decided to include bold action within the next one to three years as part of its mandate, due to rising concerns about the state of the housing situation.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor— elected chair of the committee — said it seems clear, despite York Region’s best efforts, the problem is outpacing them.
“Look how much we’ve done, and we’re falling further and further behind,” Taylor said. “We have a lot of work to do … We need to be ambitious.”
Staff presented the latest statistics, showing 986 individuals experienced chronic homelessness in York Region in 2024 — defined as being homeless for six months or more — up from 124 in 2019, which is a 695 per cent increase. Those experiencing any homelessness also increased, from 1,402 in 2019 compared to 2,525 in 2024.
Encampment visits by regional staff have also increased, from 62 in 2021 to 361 in 2024
York Region has been developing units in that time span, with a total of 556 new community housing units and an additional 26 supportive housing units developed. Meanwhile, 1,089 purpose-built rental units were completed between 2019-23, with another 193 under construction.
But staff warned that demand continues to outpace available solutions, noting that while shelter space currently exists, capacity may run out within a few years. Staff reported there are currently about 293 emergency and transitional beds available across all partner organizations. However, the region has plans to develop up to 287 more beds through expansions at several facilities.
“We recognize that this is a big and complex problem and this council has made significant progress,” general manager of housing services Karen Antonio-Hadcock said. “With your support, much more is needed.”
Georgina Mayor Margaret Quirk said the region is challenged trying to address rising homelessness.
“One of the big issues is getting to the root causes of homelessness," she said. “We can’t solve all the homeless issues if we don’t back up the train and try to solve the issues at the root cause.”
Richmond Hill Mayor David West said more of the information needs to get out to the public to address community concerns that can hold up shelter projects. He said it could create more understanding.
West added that public opinion seems to be shifting about adding more shelters.
“The tide is turning,” he said. “But it isn’t turning quickly enough.”
Staff plan to provide further updates on possible projects in the coming months, and recommend a pilot project for council consideration in September.
Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Ian Lovatt said he has a fire under him over this issue. He said 12 Neighbours in Fredericton — a tiny home village with 96 units and a community centre with wraparound services that he said was built for about $20 million — is a model to emulate.
“If chronic homelessness is defined as people who are without a home for six months, I think we need to eradicate homelessness in our lifetime,” Lovatt said.
