A Brighter Future Begins with a Home: Why Peterborough Needs More Affordable Housing
This holiday season, YES Shelter for Youth and Families is celebrating a milestone that speaks to both the power of community support and the urgent need for more affordable housing in Peterborough.
In October 2024, eight local families moved into our new Family Transitional Housing Program – a program that built off the success of our RISE Youth Transitional Housing Program that is designed specifically to help families who have experienced crisis find stability, rebuild their lives, and transition into long-term housing. This December, one of those families will reach a remarkable milestone: they will take over the lease to the home they’ve lived in for the past year.
Their journey is a powerful reminder of what stable housing makes possible, and why expanding affordable housing options is critical for our community.
A Family’s Journey from Crisis to Stability
When Travis* arrived at YES with his three young daughters, they were out of options. The girls’ mother was unable to be in their lives due to severe addiction and mental health issues. The strain of navigating this alone had led to Travis losing his job. With no supportive family network and nowhere safe to go, they turned to our Brock Street Emergency Shelter.
They stayed for 11 months.
During that time, our staff watched this loving father apply for jobs, search endlessly for housing, and face rejection after rejection. Despite his perseverance, safe and affordable rentals were simply out of reach. When we launched the Family Transitional Housing Program, Travis and his daughters became one of the first families to move in, just weeks before Christmas.
It was modest, but it was home and, worlds away from spending the holiday in a shelter setting.
They had a small kitchen where they could cook together again. The girls had warm winter clothing and one special Christmas gift each.
They had stability, privacy, and space to breathe. And with consistent support from our staff, they began to flourish.
* Name images and identifying details have been adapted to uphold YES client privacy.
Within just six months, everything changed:
- The girls settled into a new school environment and began thriving socially and academically.
- Travis secured full-time employment.
- Their reliance on monthly YES food supports decreased significantly.
- Their confidence and independence grew with each passing week.
Now, just one year later, this family is taking over their own lease and stepping into a future filled with pride, stability, and possibility.
While our Family Transitional Housing Program is creating life-changing results, the need in Peterborough remains urgent.
Why Families in Peterborough Are Struggling to Find Housing
Our family rooms in the emergency shelter are full every single night. Families are staying longer – often nine to twelve months – because finding safe, affordable housing is extraordinarily difficult.
Despite slight decreases in local rental unit prices, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is still close to $2,000 per month – far beyond reach for families living on Ontario Works, which provides only $1,002 per month. The wait for rent-geared-to-income housing stretches more than ten years, and even families with “special priority” status like survivors of domestic violence wait between two and three years for a placement.
These aren’t just statistics. It is parents trying to hold their families together while navigating impossible rental prices. It is children growing up in temporary, crowded spaces because there is nowhere else to go. It is families who are employed, resourceful, and resilient – yet still unable to secure a home.
Filling the Gap: How Transitional Housing Is Changing Lives
Peterborough needs more pathways out of homelessness. That’s why YES created the Family Transitional Housing Program, modeled on the success of our RISE Youth Housing Program.
Here’s how the program works:
- YES secures rental units in partnership with local housing providers, now nine in total.
- YES holds the lease for the first year, giving families a chance to stabilize.
- Families receive wraparound supports: financial coaching, job readiness, access to education, food and clothing supports, and the guidance of a Family Support Worker.
- After 12 months, the lease transfers to the family allowing them to stay in their home permanently.
The outcomes are remarkable.
Within 90 days, families are settled and children feel noticeably more confident.
By six months, parents are working, volunteering, and building community connections.
And after a year, families are strong, resilient, and ready to thrive.
The Path Forward
The success of families like Travis’s shows what is possible when communities come together to support stable housing. But the need is far greater than the resources currently available.
Expanding affordable housing in Peterborough isn’t just a policy goal – it’s a moral responsibility. Every child deserves a safe place to sleep. Every parent deserves the dignity of providing a stable home. And every family deserves the chance to move from crisis to independence.
At YES, we are committed to being part of the solution and we are grateful to everyone who stands with us in this work.
Together, we can ensure more families experience the most meaningful gift of all: a safe home and a brighter future.
Your gifts directly strengthen the programs that help families and youth move from crisis to independence:
- Emergency Shelter, where families and youth find immediate safety, warmth, and care
- Outreach and Prevention Services, helping youth and families avoid future homelessness
- Carriage House, Drop In programming and life skill training for youth experiencing homelessness
- Community Food Supports, ensuring no one has to choose between rent and groceries
- RISE Youth Housing & Indigenous RISE, supporting young people as they grow into independence
- Family Transitional Housing, which bridges the gap between homelessness and permanent housing