The MPP for Windsor West is criticizing the provincial government for the lack of funding for Windsor-Essex to support local homelessness services.
Lisa Gretzky, the NDP homelessness critic, stood up in the legislature during question period Wednesday and asked the Liberal government to explain why Windsor-Essex was denied a share of the $200-million in funding.
“There was no excuse to deny Windsor a portion of this funding,” said Gretzky. “I recently visited our Downtown Mission, Victoria Manor, and the Welcome Centre for Women and Families in Windsor. It’s clear that they, along with other community organizations, are stretched thin and in desperate need of resources.”
Recent figures released from Statistics Canada indicate that among all cities in Canada, Windsor has the highest rate of children growing up in low-income households. Stats show nearly one-in-four children live in low-income families.
Census data also shows Windsor’s median income has dropped 6.4 per cent in the last 10 years.
Gretzky says more and more families are now turning to community support services, but without financial support from the government, these services cannot keep up with demand.
“We recently found out that one in 10 shelters in Ontario closed between 2011 and 2016 because of funding cuts,” said Gretzky. “Municipalities like Windsor have fewer and fewer resources for homelessness prevention, even though the number of people whose primary residence is a shelter has increased by 10 per cent.”
