Part 3: Core Housing Need(Blog Series)
Another term you may often hear when discussing the housing and houselessness situation in Edmonton is the number of Edmontonians that are experiencing core housing need.
When individuals are in core housing need, they lack access to affordable, safe, and appropriate housing.
Here are a few examples of what that might look like:
spending more than 30% of your income towards housing (not affordable),
living in a place with black mold (not safe),
or having a 4-person family living in a one bedroom apartment (not appropriate).
Currently 1 in 8 households (46,155) in Edmonton is experiencing Core Housing Need according to the recent Affordable Housing Strategy report. Renters are four times more likely to be vulnerable, with 1 in 4 renter households living in Core Housing Need.
There are other groups that disproportionately have higher housing vulnerability. The report highlighted that 41% of seniors are currently in core housing need and 36% of female-led households respectively.
Research shows that affordable, safe, and appropriate housing contributes to community safety and wellbeing as well as better health outcomes for individuals. Additionally, a lack of housing options puts strains on public health and justice systems creating costly responses that are not always appropriate. However, the market alone cannot address affordability or the needs of the 3000 community members experiencing homelessness. We need to ensure we support housing affordability with market housing at the same time building affordable with other orders of government and various community organizations.
Housing must have a strong focus on building homes that addresses the lowest income categories and are diverse and appropriate for larger families, people with disabilities, and seniors.
Check out the City’s Affordable Housing Strategy to learn more about how the City is working to achieve the 3 goals outlined in the strategy:
