Not Enough Affordable Housing

What we’re going to be talking about for our report is the fact that many people in Canada cannot find affordable housing. This problem connects to the course because in class we discuss many social problems that are becoming a big issue. Global citizenship focuses on the world we live in and the people living in it because we as people make the world what it is today. As citizens, we can positively or negatively change the social issues that are talked about in global citizenship. Housing is a human right and everyone deserves to live comfortably, unfortunately the world has more people living uncomfortable due to the lack of affordable housing which makes it harder for people to maintain a healthy living style taking care of their family while working minimum wage or middle class jobs.

Another reason why this topic relates to our course is because our course talks about equity and equality and Toronto is such a diverse city with so many cultures. When they migrate to Canada, they are trying to make a better living for their family but the problem with that is not being able to find good jobs to be able to support their family due to the different requirements needed in their country vs. our country. If people were to come and visit our country and see a positive change in housing being affordable, they would be able to go back to their country with a positive mindset knowing that if in the near future they want to move, they’d be able to afford it.

This issue is relevant to us because we all have either witnessed it with our parents growing up or know people in the situation right now. It concerns us that if it continues to go the way it is right now, almost everyone will not be able to find a safe and affordable environment to live in that they can afford without struggling to make ends meet. With that being said, we have children and we are experiencing this social issue within ourselves while paying market rent as well as going to school and receiving government assistance while having to deal with duties pertaining to our children, school fees, rent and basic needs.

We chose this issue because we find ourselves struggling in this area. Two of us are single parents trying to make a better living for our children and one of us witnesses their mother going through this issue. We wanted to do more research and find out the root problem as to why it is so hard to afford housing. Another reason why we chose this issue is because if we find out the root problem, we can all figure out how to address the problem and find ways to fix it.

SOCIAL ANALYSIS
The crisis the world faces today with housing issues only gets deeper and deeper people have to live and pay rent so that’s just what we do whether we are comfortable or struggling. The struggle many people are facing today with housing costs can only be a question of will it gets better or worse, well the reality is that it will not. The iceberg model is a metaphoric example of what’s really visible to us as citizens and the fact that “1/10th of icebergs mass are seen outside while about 9/10th of it is unseen, deep down in water”.

When it comes to people living uncomfortable due to costs of rent, I believe it is and will remain a struggle for them and other people not having the same struggles may not see or know the truth about the costs of rent. The world is oblivious to this specific issue due to 9/10th of the unseen the parts that are left under water. The major reasons, solutions, and data’s regarding sky rocketing housing costs are left out, and people suffering don’t get answers so we remain to struggle and just make ends meet. The “facts” that we may believe about expensive housing may not always be the truth just like the iceberg model explains some parts are left under water which we do not see or know of.

Media I would say is the tip of the iceberg, underlying the basic information that they think we should know about, but no one address this epidemic. It remains a demographic social issue all over the world. The different areas of an iceberg such as the tip the base and foundation just go to show perfectly how information is discussed and dealt with, I mean the foundation is where it starts and how it can be solved but no one ever gets to that part of the iceberg we sit and watch the tip and believe the not so true ideologies about housing and not being able to afford it.

Works Cited

(addresses which housing policy is the best way to help low income tenants. The focus is on comparing building new affordable housing units with portable housing allowance programs on page3) Association, C. F. (2007, 05 18). The affordable Housing Problem in Canada. Retrieved 10 2012, from Canadian Federation of Apartment Association: http://www.cfaa-fcapi.org/pd2/SubmSolberg070518.pdf Talks about statistics in Toronto and goes in detail about people that who have found themselves losing control over their lives, living in government housing or on the streets, as well as some people who are raising questions about the City’s priorities and looking for solutions themselves on 2nd paragraph. Lissner, A. (2009, 08 10). Toronto Housing Crisis. Retrieved 10 2012, from Dominion Paper: http://dominionpaper.ca/articles/2803 The Right to Housing. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 2012, from Human Rights Education Associates: http://www.hrea.org/index.php?doc_id=411 Outlines the concept of housing affordability; the price of housing in relation to a household’s ability to pay onPage1).Tynorf, T. (2006, 06). Perspectives on Housing Affordability. Retrieved 10 2012, from Toronto City Planning: http://www.toronto.ca/planning/pdf/housing_afford.pdf (