Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Graydon Smith announced Thursday that the District of Muskoka and the Parry Sound District Social Services Administration Board are getting increases to their base annual funding.
According to Smith, an additional $761,000 is going to the district and $657,000 to the Parry Sound District Social Services Administration Board. It brings the funding totals to $1,557,400 and $2,068,200 respectively.
“We’re very pleased the government has responded to the call by municipalities for urgent funding for homelessness services,” said Jeff Lehman, District of Muskoka Chair. “This funding will allow us to provide services to Muskoka’s most vulnerable residents at a time when it is needed more than ever.”
In order to get the funding, officials with Smith’s office say service managers must have in place a “comprehensive and up-to-date by-name list of people experiencing homelessness.” The list is a requirement so those dealing with or on edge of dealing with homelessness can be quickly connected with the proper services.
Lehman notes they know of 160 people in the district that are homeless and “many, many more” they don’t know of. “We’re all aware the homelessness situation in Muskoka has gotten worse during COVID and with the housing crunch right now,” he says.
The money is coming from the additional $202 million the province added to the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supporting Housing Program. The yearly investment total between the two programs is now around $700 million.
“This funding increase represents our government’s serious commitment to providing our municipal partners with the resources they need to provide supportive housing services to our most vulnerable residents,” says Smith. “This funding will go a long way in helping more people access critical housing support services.”
