The executive director of a supportive housing organization in Windsor is 'thankful' for a funding increase contained in the proposed 2026 City of Windsor budget but says more is needed.
Ron Dunn, executive director of Victoria Manor, made the comment after addressing city council Monday as part of the 2026 budget deliberations.
The budget calls for a per diem rate increase from $60 to $65 for the Residential Services Homes (RSH) program, which offers supportive housing for 565 eligible low-income individuals living in 20 designated homes in Windsor (339 beds, 60%) and Essex County (226 beds, 40%).
The last increase was in 2023.
Dunn says the hole is giant, and we're only putting our finger in it.
"It's costing us almost $80 a day to house somebody effectively. $65, great, appreciate it, love it, but we need to get to $80," he says. "So we're asking to have a conversation about, can we tie it to inflation? Can we visit it every year?"
The program is funded through the provincial Homelessness Prevention Program along with municipal funding from the City of Windsor and County of Essex, with the province providing $4.7 million and $766,375 coming from the city with another $414,535 from the county in the next fiscal year.
The proposed budget document shows the prorated cost to cover the per diem increase will be $450,000 for the city and $300,000 more for the county.
Dunn says they want to increase the quality of care they provide to people.
"We haven't had an increase since 2023, and we were at $55. So going up $5 incrementally every three or four years isn't very helpful. By the time we get to the $80 we need to be at, we'll need to be at $100," he says.
Dunn says they need to be at $80 just to break even.
"The problem is this: I can hold 130 people, but I have only 81 subsidized beds. So the people who need the service the most, coming from hospitals, coming from shelters-those are people who need to be subsidized, which means they're on OW, Ontario Works, or Ontario Disability. So the city, if they could increase the number of beds, I could take 10 people this afternoon," he says.
The Residential Services Homes program provides safe, affordable, and supportive housing for people in our community who are at high risk of homelessness or may be exiting homelessness.
Victoria Manor is located at 759 Victoria Avenue in Windsor.