Simcoe County supportive housing project to open as need for affordable housing grows

With inflation making the struggle to find affordable housing even more challenging, one new project will be finished in Simcoe County just in time.

Within the next month and a half, the County of Simcoe said it will be ready to welcome residents to 77 Tiffin, a new supportive housing project built in Barrie.

The project will have 14 fully furnished units and staff on site to help those who have struggled with chronic homelessness.

“What we’re seeing, in general, is definitely the level of need is increasing, especially for those who are most vulnerable, and that would be those who have experienced chronic homelessness,” said Mina Fayez-Bahgat, County of Simcoe general manager of community and social services.

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“What you’re seeing here is that a lot of people, in order to be successfully housed, do need some more supports that are integrated into the place where they’re living, and this is a great example of a project that does that.”

Fayez-Bahgat told Global News all residents for 77 Tiffin are being selected from the county’s co-ordinated access list, which keeps track of people experiencing homelessness and who need more affordable housing.

“By ensuring that there’s on-site support, we’re hoping to ensure that these tenancies are maintained successfully,” he said.

“This is a series of different wraparound supports that are offered on-site for those individuals. It includes system navigation, allowing an individual assistance in finding and connecting to the different services they may need, including social services, mental health and addiction services, life skill training, employment supports.”

The new supportive housing building will be run in partnership with the Elizabeth Fry Society and Busby Centre, ensuring residents have access to a variety of services.

Approved in 2022 by the county, the project is made possible by the provincial government’s social services relief fund, which contributed $2.57 million.

The fund was created at the beginning of the pandemic and allowed municipalities to create long-standing affordable housing options.

In addition to the money from the fund, Fayez-Bahgat said there is an approximate cost of $111,000 per year for rent subsidies and $385,000 per year to fund the on-site supports, which will come from provincial and federal funding sources.