A group of individuals concerned about the growing housing crisis in Ottawa will hold a charity walk this Sunday to work towards providing affordable
housing for low-income households. “I think the housing crisis is a very hidden problem,” said Sue Evans, executive director of the Multifaith Housing Initiative, which is organizing the Tulipathon charity walk at Dow’s Lake. “When people think of the homeless they think of the image of people living on the street. They don’t think about families. However, there’s a very large group of people in Ottawa at risk of losing their housing.” Evans said in 2007, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ottawa was about $800, which is unaffordable for more than 30 per cent of the city’s earners. More than 24,000 renters in Ottawa are spending more than 50 per cent of their earnings on housing every year. Evans hopes that the weekend’s Tulipathon raises not only $10,000 — the charity’s goal for the event — but awareness, too, about the magnitude of Ottawa’s housing problems. Currently, the Multifaith Housing Initiative has 42 social housing units already operating around the city, and recently purchased a 27-unit apartment building on Blake Boulevard that will see tenants moving in soon. “Ideally, our socioeconomic system should provide sufficient income for the working class to be able to afford to pay rent,” said Evans. “But there’s a large gap between what people are earning and what apartment owners are asking.”