Muskoka's 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Plan focuses on the full range of housing options needed in a community - from emergency housing to homeownership.
The plan has a goal of Housing for Everyone.
In working towards this goal, below you will find information on housing developments happening in Muskoka that are being supported by the District through funding and partnerships.
You can learn more about what Muskoka is doing to increase access to housing on the Muskoka Housing Task Force Project Page on the Engage Muskoka platform.
Home For Good - Young Adult Transitional Housing
What is Home For Good?
Home For Good (HFG) is a Provincial program that focuses on helping people in four priority areas to find stable housing. These priority areas include youth, Indigenous people, the chronically homeless, and those transitioning from provincial institutions and service systems. The program supports Ontario's goal of ending chronic homelessness by 2025.
Muskoka's Home For Good Project
The District of Muskoka received funding from the province to support a local HFG project for young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 and who are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness. The HFG project is located at 49 Pine Street in Bracebridge (the former location of Simoce Muskoka Family Connexions).
Phase 1 of the project includes 12 self-contained supportive bachelor housing units to be used to house young adults in Muskoka who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness, and office space for support services. Phase 2 will bring 5 additional one-bedroom affordable rental units to the location.
The District will be the landlord for the building and will be teaming up with a number of service providers that you are likely familiar with through their work in our community. The young adults living in the units will have access to life skills, employment training, mental health supports and be able to collaborate with coordinators on individualized plans to help them transition to longer-term housing solutions. This type of housing is called transitional housing and is one of the many housing options needed in a community.
Habitat for Humanity, Bala - Deferred Homeownership
The District Municipality of Muskoka and Habitat for Humanity Ontario Gateway North have signed a $155,300 funding agreement supporting the construction of two affordable, universally accessible homes in Bala.
"Affordable housing is perhaps the biggest challenge facing our communities across Muskoka," shared District Chair John Klinck. "We are so pleased that funding from the province has created the opportunity to partner with Habitat for Humanity on this important project that will support residents of Bala with a place to call home".
By partnering with Habitat for Humanity Ontario Gateway North, the resident families will be assured of paying an affordable monthly rental payment, a portion of which is saved and applied as a down payment to purchase their home twenty years after the move-in date. “This Deferred Homeownership program is a hybrid of Habitat’s affordable home ownership and affordable rental programs,” says Kimberley Woodcock, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Ontario Gateway North. “This model makes good use of donated funds. We serve the community now by creating badly needed affordable rental units, and in time, we’ll leverage the same contribution and adapt to serve the community again by providing affordable homeownership opportunities.”