{"id":10506,"date":"2026-02-25T12:36:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/?p=10506"},"modified":"2026-02-27T12:40:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:40:48","slug":"behind-every-number-is-a-real-person-as-york-region-homelessness-grows-agency-quintuples-its-housing-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluedoor.ca\/behind-every-number-is-a-real-person-as-york-region-homelessness-grows-agency-quintuples-its-housing-goal\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Behind every number is a real person\u2019: As York Region homelessness grows, agency quintuples its housing goal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Posted On: February 25th, 2026, Posted By: Lisa Queen, YorkRegion.com, Original Article. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the number of York Region residents experiencing homelessness grows, Blue Door is quintupling its goal of securing housing for those in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news comes just in advance of this year\u2019s Coldest Night of the Year<\/a> on Feb. 28 to raise money for local charities supporting people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based in East Gwillimbury, Blue Door is York Region\u2019s largest non-profit emergency housing provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Door\u2019s Housing for All Land Trust<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago, it launched the Housing for All Land Trust, which seeks to engage with community partners to acquire and preserve properties in perpetuity to ensure they remain affordable and are protected from market forces that drive up prices and rents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mission is simple \u2014 protect affordable housing and create homes that will always stay affordable so people in the York Region community always have a dignified place they can afford to live,\u201d Emily Kelly, chief operating officer, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHousing is what ends homelessness and Housing for All helps make sure those homes remain affordable for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Door\u2019s initial goal was to create 200 housing units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But given the growing need in the region, the organization has now boosted that number to 1,000 over 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Deeply troubling\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHomelessness in York Region is growing and becoming more visible,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBehind every number is a real person, a family, a senior or a young person who cannot find a home they can afford. It is deeply troubling, but it is solvable if we create more affordable homes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly admits the new goal is ambitious, but Blue Door is determined to help as many residents experiencing homelessness as it can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlue Door has always helped people who don\u2019t have a home, but building homes at this level is new for us, so it felt big and daunting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat gave us hope was hearing from the community and knowing that when many groups work together, big change is possible. The 1,000-home goal shows how serious the need is, and (bolsters) Blue Door\u2019s commitment to grow, collaborate with others and help more people have a safe place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jump in homelessness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Homelessness continues to rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 85,000 Ontario residents, including 20,000 children and youth, experienced homelessness last year, Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In York Region, about 2,500 people experienced homelessness in 2024 \u2014 a 40 per cent year-over-year increase, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlue Door operates York Region\u2019s largest emergency housing programs, all at capacity,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEmergency housing is critically in crisis, but housing is the long-term solution to homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the land trust, homes in York Region are already being created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Newmarket, the former Kevin\u2019s Place shelter on Gorham Street is being redeveloped from housing 10 people to homes for up to 36 people. It\u2019s scheduled to open in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine additional home units have been acquired across Markham, Newmarket and Richmond Hill and are already housing vulnerable families, seniors and individuals, Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted On: February 25th, 2026, Posted By: Lisa Queen, YorkRegion.com, Original Article. As the number of York Region residents experiencing homelessness grows, Blue Door is quintupling its goal of securing housing for those in need. The news comes just in advance of this year\u2019s Coldest Night of the Year on Feb. 28 to raise money for local […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":10507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t