United Housing in Huron-Perth
- Sage Milne
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Housing is a major concern in Ontario. There are many people that lack appropriate or adequate housing that suit their life stage or needs. In Huron-Perth, a report from the Huron County Immigration Partnership revealed that housing was a critical barrier to attracting and retaining workers in rural communities. Increasing appropriate, affordable and attainable housing supply is a key challenge that United Housing, a new not-for-profit in Perth and Huron Counties is working to address.
Webinar – United Housing: Not-for-Profit Housing in Perth-Huron. Building Partnerships
On Tuesday, October 21st, from 12 - 1 PM via ZOOM, Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) hosted Dr. Kathy Vassilakos, Director of United Housing, to present on “United Housing – Not-for-Profit Housing in Perth Huron. Building Partnerships.”
Dr. Kathy Vassilakos has experience working with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s housing task force, and in community and municipal leadership. Under her leadership, United Housing is Perth-Huron's first non-profit housing organization dedicated to creating and sustaining mixed-income rental units. Their work is underway in Listowel, Ontario, to create a mix of market, affordable and deeply affordable rental units.
To support this conversation, Dr. Kathy Vassilakos was joined by the Manager of Planning at the County of Huron, Denise Van Amersfoort and the Executive Director of the Huron Chamber of Commerce, Colin Carmichael.
Denise van Amersfoort shared how Huron Couty is tackling the housing crisis. Huron County is increasing the stock of housing by directly building housing to meet the current demand. The County has also worked to provided additional material in the form of educational videos, How We Grow Matters, that shows creative ways that people are increasing density in Huron County.
The Huron Chamber of Commerce is a business not-for-profit that works to connect community leaders and foster economic, business and community development throughout Huron County. The Executive Director of the Huron Chamber of Commerce, Colin Carmichael provided the perspective of local businesses, and why it can be so hard to find local employees.
Watch the full webinar on YouTube:
Gateway CERH has previously discussed housing changes and challenges due to COVID-era migration: https://youtu.be/hEX2mc6maGI?si=5VX6zrJTCQVJQ-vI
More Rural Housing Resources:
Rural Housing Information System | Rural Ontario Institute | https://www.ruralontarioinstitute.ca/rhis
Speak Up for Housing | Perth-Huron United Way | https://perthhuron.unitedway.ca/speakupforhousing/
Attainable Housing Taskforce | Rural Ontario Municipal Association | https://www.roma.on.ca/housing
Housing Publication Archive | Rural Development Institute | https://www.brandonu.ca/rdi/publication-topic/housing/
Estimating Rural Homelessness | Rural Development Network | https://ruraldevelopment.ca/resource/estimating-rural-homelessness
Housing Affordability & Attainability | Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus | https://wowc.ca/priorities/housing-2024-2025/
Shelter and Supportive Housing | House of Friendship | https://houseoffriendship.org/how-we-help/shelter-and-supportive-housing/
About Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health
Founded in 2008 in the community of Seaforth, ON, Gateway CERH is a not-for-profit rural health research organization run by a community-based volunteer board of directors. Gateway CERH's main mission is to better the health and quality of life of rural residents through research, education and communication. Follow on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
A brief disclaimer: the views expressed in these lectures may not necessarily reflect Gateway CERH’s views or opinions, but we believe in providing a platform for a range of perspectives and thoughtful discussion.
Gateway CERH has a full library of lectures and information about the upcoming presentation that can be found on our website: https://www.gatewayruralhealth.ca/lectureseries
Or watch all past lecture online on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GatewayCERH/videos
Comments