The Executive Director of the Perth Huron United Way says a significant amount of their efforts are now being directed to addressing the homelessness issue in Huron and Perth.
Ryan Erb says one of the factors in driving those numbers up is the decreasing numbers of rental units in the two counties. Erb says it's not only driving the numbers up, it's changing the demographics.
"The increasing number of people experiencing homelessness tells a story in our region, right. So what we're dealing with now are seniors and families, not only individuals, you know, in their mid-life."
Erb says it's a growing challenge that we have to pay attention to and he points out, people get there for a variety of reasons.
"People get there for a variety of reasons and not only do we need services to help them connect and to try to support them on their next steps to find housing, we also have to recognize that it's a long-term game and we just have to begin to build affordable housing in our region or we'll never solve it."
Erb says it's not something that's going to be solved overnight, but advocating for more supportive and affordable starts in the region is essential to finding a solution.
