Capital Campaign / Housing Project
Working with our community partners to bring to reality the dream of adequate housing for seniors in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Community Care is committed to creating affordable, accessible and supportive housing to our municipality.
Though no group is immune to the difficulty of finding affordable housing, for those who are aging, the situation is particularly urgent. A senior's annual income after age 65 is below that for all other age groups, except for young people under 25. The financial strains felt by low income seniors exacerbate their health by forcing choices that are not always in their best interests. The housing and health concerns of seniors are also closely related. More than half of all seniors over 74 need assistance with one or more activities of daily living. The lack of help at home puts tremendous pressure on senior health, not to mention strain on their families ? who are struggling to work, raise their own children and support aging parents.
The challenge of creating affordable, accessible and supportive housing is all the more overwhelming in the City of Kawartha Lakes, where the second highest density of seniors in the province lives.
Housing Needs Analysis
Community Care recently undertook a housing needs analysis in partnership with the Access to Permanent Housing Committee. Some of our findings include:
- half of renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent
- 25% of renters spend more than 50% of income on rent
- City of Kawartha Lakes has 700 rent-geared to income apartments ? all are occupied.
- 650 families and individuals are currently on waiting list for units
- 86% of new developments locally are single detached homes
- 10% of new developments are apartments
Community Care's non-profit housing corporation, Village Housing, embraces a philosophy of "aging at home" ? seniors living in a non-health care environment with access to products and services based on their needs and which supports their independence and ability to live with choice and dignity.
Community Care has a vision to develop this type of housing in the City of Kawartha Lakes.
Our Village Housing goal is to locate housing close to amenities, while at the same time seeking opportunity to use land that affords potential to be good environmental stewards. The use of remediated brownfields and green technology are two examples of such stewardship.
For more information about Village Housing, please contact Community Care Executive Director Valmay Barkey (vbarkey@community-care.on.ca) at 324-7323.
