09/23/2026
It kinda burns our biscuits when we hear people complain, "I pay for my housing. Why should they get it for free?" 🤨
Of course, it can feel unfair. Most of us work hard to pay rent or a mortgage.
So when someone suggests deeply affordable or subsidized housing for people experiencing homelessness, it's easy to think: Why should they get housing for free when I have to pay for mine?
But what if we're paying either way?
When someone doesn't have a home, we still pay for: Emergency shelters, hospital visits, paramedics, police responses, encampment clearings, warming centres, outreach vans, meal programs, and more. Canada spends over $7 billion each year on homelessness services.
And after all that spending? Someone still doesn't have a home.
So maybe the question isn't whether we're willing to pay...we're already paying. Lots. The question is what we want our shared resources to accomplish.
We can keep paying to manage homelessness. Or we can invest in helping people leave it behind, and make everyone feel safer.
When everyone has a safe, affordable, hopeful place to call home, our whole community is better off. 💚