A community housing consultation event will be held in North Perth next week.
This event is hosted and facilitated by the City of Stratford Department of Social Services. Alex Burgess, manager of Ontario Works Social Services in Stratford, said the event was a public forum on housing and homelessness in the region, and he spoke with first-hand people who have struggled with homelessness or obtained housing. He said he also plans to listen to the opinions of people with experience.
“Specifically the experience with housing and homelessness: what is the housing market like when it comes to acquiring housing, what are the challenges that people are experiencing when purchasing housing in their communities? ” Burgess explained. “Also, what can be done and what is currently being done to address housing and homelessness issues in our communities? What is being done well and what is not being done in other communities?” What are the areas for improvement that you see?'' Done? It's really just asking for as much feedback as possible on the work we're doing. ”
Burgess points out that the City of Stratford is the service manager for provincially mandated programs such as Housing and Homelessness, Ontario Enterprises and Children's Services, which cover Stratford, Perth County and St. Mary's. . That's why Burgess says public feedback is important.
“We strive to get as much input and feedback from the community about the work we do, from people who experience life in North Perth every day, and what we can improve. We're really trying to get feedback on what we could do differently, and what's currently working in the community that people think is a good way to keep moving forward. ' added Mr Burgess.
The event will also include presentations before the public discussion.
“Presentations will be delivered by our housing managers and homelessness supervisors.In fact, the focus of the presentations will primarily be on what services exist. What are some definitions, what are some definitions?' What is the work we've done through the Housing and Homelessness Plan on terminology related to housing and homelessness? or what we have done to implement that plan,” Burgess said. .
Following presentations and public discussions, the event will also feature a service provider fair.
“So we're really just trying to bring together service providers that serve the whole of Perth County, those that are based in Stratford, that serve the whole of Perth County, that have operations in North Perth. There are several organizations, and we also have a North Perth agency, as well,” Burgess said. “We're just trying to get these agencies together in one room, so anyone who attends can ask some questions and talk to their local service providers about what they actually do. We can have a general conversation about what's going on.”
The event will be held at the Steve Kerr Memorial Complex in Listowel on Wednesday 28th February from 5pm to 8pm and is open to all.
