Community Living Huntsville receives $125K in Reaching Home funding for Transitional Housing

Katherine Somerset (left), Supported Independent Living supervisor for Community Living Huntsville, and Suzanne Willett, Executive Director for Community Living Huntsville, say the not-for-profit organization’s transitional housing initiative is changing lives in North Muskoka. Photo by Community Living Huntsville.

NORTH MUSKOKA – A one-time funding contribution will help people with developmental disabilities along the path to housing inclusion in Huntsville.

The United Way Simcoe Muskoka has awarded $125,000 in funding to Community Living Huntsville’s Path to Housing Inclusion initiative for transitional housing. This was funded through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.

Reaching Home is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. This program provides funding to urban, Indigenous, rural, and remote communities to help them address their local homelessness needs.

“We are working to reduce homelessness and housing insecurity by investing in local initiatives. Through the United Way, Community Living Huntsville is improving the lives of adults facing barriers to independence, helping them access safe and secure places to call home,” says the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities.

“We are appreciative that the Government of Canada is taking steps to address the housing crisis in our community by helping us provide intensive housing-related supports and services for people we support, who are homeless or on the brink of homelessness,” says Suzanne Willett, Executive Director for Community Living Huntsville. “People with developmental disabilities deserve the same housing choices as everyone else. It’s foundational to an inclusive community. But many people and families we support are shut out or at risk because of intense competition, marginalization, and harmful misconceptions. Our community needs action.”

The not-for-profit organization’s transitional housing initiative supports adults with developmental disabilities, who have experienced chronic or periodic homelessness, to reach independent living within four years. This includes a temporary apartment, a tailored transition plan, staff-led and community-led skills building courses, connection to community services and supports, an employment plan, support with apartment applications and interviews, and more.

The initiative aims to empower participants to take control of their lives, as they achieve the stability and opportunities that access to housing provides. The initiative does not receive ongoing government funding and relies on fundraised dollars, donations, and charitable grants.

Community Living Huntsville’s Path to Housing Inclusion initiative is funded in part by a one-time funding contribution from the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home Rural and Remote Homelessness Program with funding administered by United Way Simcoe Muskoka.

Community Living Huntsville is a not-for-profit, registered charity that supports and advocates alongside people with developmental disabilities and families to live, work, and play in unique and purposeful ways in North Muskoka. Find more at clhuntsville.ca or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin.