Who's Hungry in the GTA?
If you lost your job tomorrow, how many months could you manage to continue paying your rent, your hydro, your heating or grocery bills? How much of your monthly income goes towards housing costs? For people who access a food bank, the answer is 72 per cent. Spending 50 per cent or more of your monthly income on housing costs puts someone at serious risk of homelessness. That’s why with the release of this year’s Hunger Snapshot we decided to focus on an innovative solution: an Ontario Housing Benefit.
An Ontario Housing Benefit would be a monthly benefit for low income tenants that would pay a part of the gap between their rent and the income they are receiving. Hunger is not just about food. It is about lack of income. It is not having enough money to pay rent AND put food on the table. Families go hungry when they cannot afford to do both. Everyone deserves a roof over their heads and food on the table and a Housing Benefit will help both of those things happen for people across Ontario.
The Hunger Snapshot also has some statistical highlights from the 2011 survey to provide you with a brief picture of poverty and hunger in the GTA. The full report on the results of the survey will be released on September 21st, 2011.
Visit www.dailybread.ca/learning-centre/housing-benefit to find out more about a Housing Benefit.
Download the 2011 Hunger Snapshot >>
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