OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via our website. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to an article about a county presentation to city council regarding affordable housing, published Nov. 30.
The county staff report was wordy and full of numbers on goals and planning.
Most of the information dealt with affordable housing for people with low income, but not the true homeless.
However, from all the presented numbers, it appears that the new housing complex on West Street in Orillia will contain 10 per cent of units geared to homeless people. That amounts to around 13 units. It is a start. However, there are many more people who are homeless for health and accessibility reasons. So, these units will not eliminate the tent camps in Orillia parks.
A suggestion was also made that the county may go from “goal” objectives to “data-based” planning in the future. I do not see how this gets people housed. This change in planning smacks of a famous Roman general statement: We reorganize the army to maintain the illusion of a forwards motion.
Konrad Brenner
Ramara
