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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 29 ,2 01 8 | 12 City of Waterloo staff will be presenting the 2019 proposed budget to council on December 10, 2018 and will be seeking council's approval on this budget on February 11, 2019. Staff will also be presenting the proposed city utilities rates for 2019 for council's consideration and approval on January 21, 2019 and the proposed rental housing rates for 2019 for approval that day. Details regarding this presentation are as follows: > Monday, December 10, 2018 (at a time still to be determined) City of Waterloo council chambers (third floor) Waterloo City Centre 100 Regina St. S, Waterloo Residents are invited to attend this council meeting to learn more about the city's proposed budget for the coming year. Through this budget, the city will deliver on current services as well as a limited number of new services required for community growth. The goal is to continue to deliver services using a balanced approach that supports a strong, healthy, green and vibrant Waterloo that is within the financial capacity of the community. Stay tuned -we want to hear from you! We're interested in better understanding what information you would like to know about our budget and budget process and how to better communicate it. From December 11, 2018 to February 15, 2019 we'll be hosting a public engagement survey to collect feedback from you. To learn more or for further information about the 2019 budget process, please visit waterloo.ca/budget or contact Filipa Reynolds, director, financial planning at filipa.reynolds@waterloo.ca or by calling 519-747-8711. 2019 PROPOSED BUDGET waterloo.ca/budget There were many achievements to celebrate, but what stood out most at a local event to mark Na- tional Housing Day in the Region of Waterloo earlier this month were tears. Tears for lives lost. Tears for lives saved. Tears for lives displaced, includ- ing those of people evacu- ated from a shelter in downtown Kitchener just hours earlier due to a fire. The common denomi- nator is homelessness, and for those most vulnerable it is a matter of life and death according to Deb Schlichter, the Region of Waterloo's director of housing services. "If we don't do some- thing, they will die, basi- cally," she said, following the kickoff to a local cam- paign that aims to end "chronic homelessness" by 2020. Currently there are more than 250 people in the region that fall under that definition, as determined by an initial assessment when they enter the sys- tem, Schlichter explained. They're often people who have been homeless the longest (at least six months) but are moreover the individuals with the most complex needs, in- cluding addiction and mental health issues. A new community cam- paign ALL IN 2020 that aims to wipe out chronic homelessness by National Housing Day in two years' time will mean reducing that number to about three, said Lynn Macau- lay, co-ordinator with the Homelessness and Hous- ing Umbrella Group, ac- knowledging the constant "inflow" and "outflow" of chronic cases. During the next two years, people will be able to keep track of the cam- paign's progress on a dash- board at www.hhug.ca/al- lin2020wr/, as the region attempts to be one of the first in Canada to meet the goal - five years ahead of the federal government's target. Why now? Macaulay says we're at a crossroads when it comes it homelessness, with increased funding un- der a new national housing strategy, as well as access to new tools, data, research and housing methodolo- gies. We can do what we've al- ways done and get what we've always gotten, or we can all do a little more, she said. "It's not about what others can do; it's about what you can do." The campaign ultimate- ly aims to raise $700,000. People can donate through community foundations in Cambridge-North Dum- fries and Kitchener-Water- loo, the latter which has committed to match the first $25,000 raised. Macaulay noted that ending homelessness is al- so a financial benefit to so- ciety overall, as having people housed with ade- quate supports costs up to 10 times less than respond- ing with emergency ser- vices and hospitals. While outgoing region- al chair Ken Seiling cele- brated many achieve- ments in supportive hous- ing in recent years - the construction of six new multi-residential dwell- ings in Cambridge, Kitche- ner and Waterloo got un- derway this past year - he acknowledged it's not enough. There are still approxi- mately 3,000 people on a waiting list. "We need to do more," he said. Incoming regional chair Karen Redman also echoed the need for more "intentional" solutions in order to fulfil affordable housing needs in the fu- ture. COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN AIMS TO HOUSE REGION'S 'MOST VULNERABLE' Deb Schlichter, director of housing services at the Region of Waterloo and Lynn Macaulay, coordinator with the Homelessness and Housing Umbrella Group, put on their 'housing hero' capes to kick off a local campaign to end chronic homelessness by 2020. The announcement was part of an event event to mark National Housing Day at the Centre for International Governance Innovation on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018 in Waterloo. Bill Jackson/Metroland NEWS BILL JACKSON bjackson@kitchenerpost.ca ALL IN 2020 AIMS TO RAISE $700,000 OVER 2 YEARS