Oakville News received the following letter about homelessness and the gap between social assistance and housing costs in Oakville.
Dear Editor,
Recent discussions about homelessness in Oakville have focused on visibility and enforcement. However, this conversation misses the fundamental cause of homelessness in a relatively affluent community: the massive gap between social assistance rates and Oakville's astronomical housing costs.
The reality is stark: Ontario Works provides just $733 monthly, while ODSP recipients receive $1,368. Meanwhile, the average one-bedroom apartment in Oakville now exceeds $2,200 per month. This mathematical impossibility forces people into homelessness, regardless of how many bylaws we pass or how frequently we displace people from public spaces.
While some suggest that people experiencing homelessness should simply move to less expensive communities, this ignores the reality that many unhoused individuals have deep connections to Oakville – including family supports, medical care, and employment opportunities. Pushing people away from their support networks only deepens the crisis.
The allocation of municipal resources toward enforcement represents a misguided approach. These funds would be better spent advocating for meaningful change at the provincial level, specifically demanding social assistance rates that reflect Oakville's actual cost of living.
As a former resident of two decades I know that Oakville prides itself on being a caring, progressive community. If we truly want to address homelessness, we must move beyond simply hiding poverty from view.
We need our town council to formally advocate for social assistance reform, and to work with regional partners to develop real solutions based on housing affordability, not enforcement.
The measure of a community isn't found in its property values or pristine parks, but in how it treats its most vulnerable members. Oakville can and must do better.
Ron Anicich
Raise The Rates Coalition
