Toronto Community Housing Special Priority for Young Women

The provincial governmentвs Special Priority Housing (SPH) program was created to help those who were experiencing abuse in their home find safe shelter. However, over time the institutional mechanisms that enable a person to utilize the SPH program, specifically those mechanisms created and utilized by Toronto Community Housing, have served to limit accessibility to the detriment of those it was designed to help. As standards for acceptance into the program become more regimented groups such as young women, ages 16 to 25, who are fleeing abuse are having an increasingly difficult time in securing assistance on this front. The fundamental goal of the вYoung Women for Housing Now!в campaign is to bring awareness and enact positive changes within Toronto Community Housingвs policies, specifically their interpretation of the SPH program in order to improve the housing opportunities available for young women escaping violence.

I support the Young Women for Housing Now! campaign and their demands for:

- The creation of an advisory committee within Toronto Community Housing who can advocate on behalf of the considerations of young women that have the potential to be over looked in the standards of the application process criteria.

- The construction of more subsidized/affordable housing is a key piece in this campaign. The SPH program list continues to grow while the construction of homes to house women remains at a standstill.

- A rent supplement set up through Ontario Works to allow young women to sustain themselves within affordable housing or access the private sector given the shortage of affordable housing.

- Funding set up by Toronto Community Housing to provide free post-secondary education for young women within the SPH program for them to compete in today's job market.

It is my belief that by having a campaign that spans the complexities and barriers young women face in acquiring housing, we are helping them take the first steps in their journey towards healing.

I am signing this petition to let Toronto Community Housing know that I support the вYoung Women for Housing Now!в campaign and want fundamental change to better the living conditions for young women escaping violence!