CDSSAB pledges funds to support housing study

Local Confidence is a Timmins 2020 initiative that aims to share the good things happening in Timmins through one-on-one interviews with various members of the community. For more information about the series, including links to all the interviews, click here.

CDSSAB pledges funds to support housing STudy

In April 2013, Timmins 2020 announced that the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB) has pledged a significant contribution to support to completion of a housing study. Read the press release here. Brian Marks, Director, Housing Services for CDSSAB, answered a few questions to share reasons why CDSSAB has decided to get involved in the housing project.

1. What issues or concerns are you aware of regarding housing in Timmins?
The vacancy rate is approximately 1%. High demand and low supply equals high rent. Couple this with high utility costs and slow housing starts, and there is a large portion of the population paying a high percentage of their monthly income toward accommodation costs. Further, the lack of affordability forces current residents to consider relocation, and potential new residents do not choose Timmins as a destination. This results in fewer available employees, which in turn equals higher product and or service costs as wages rise to attract new hires.

2. Why is housing important for the success of organizations in Timmins?
An adequate supply of affordable housing makes Timmins a competitive environment for new business, facilitating the recruitment and retention of employees.

3. When it comes to housing, what progress do you hope Timmins will make between now and 2020?
End homelessness in Timmins and create an adequate supply of affordable housing at all levels of the housing spectrum (private rental, public rental, condo, home owner, etc.) and at all levels of the income spectrum (low, medium and high wage earners).

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