MICAH- Markham Interchurch Committee for Affordable Housing <br/><br/>
According to data from the York Region Alliance to End Homelessness:<br/><br/>
In 2001:<br/><br/>
41% of families (12,450 families) spent 30% of their income on house rental
18% of families (5,500 families) spent 50% of their income on house rental
4600 families were waiting for government housing allowance<br/><br/>
In 2005:<br/><br/>
6,000 families were waiting for government housing allowance, which include 13,000 family members, in which 3,600 were age 16 or under
about one-fourth of families that applied for housing allowance were single parent families
women who were victims of domestic violence (already considered high priority cases) needed to wait at least 3-12 months before they received assistance
those families that applied for assistance in North York must wait 3-5 years on average, and those that lived in the south part (such as Richmond Hill, Markham, Vaughan) must wait an average of over 6 years
seniors waited 3-5 years before they received assistance
single family members who were not seniors must wait over 7 years<br/><br/>
In order to address the above social issues, various religious organizations in Markham founded the MICAH - Markham Interchurch Committee for Affordable Housing in 1998 so that resources can be better utilized to help families in poverty. There are now 13 religious organizations that are part of the committee, wherein St Patrick Church and St Justin Martyr Church are Catholic organizations.<br/><br/>
MICAH’s contact information: c/o Water Street Non-profit Homes, 20Water Street, Markham, ON L3P-7P7, tel 905-415-8067 fax 905-415-0682, e-mail: proth@sympatico.ca <br/><br/>
When we are contented, don’t forget to give thanks, and hold out a friendly and helping hand.