In a new report, United Way’s Social Research and Planning Council shares the voices of Perth-Huron residents affected by rising housing costs, with dozens of quotes drawn from a survey conducted in 2024.
“This report is an attempt to document the impact of the housing crisis on Perth-Huron residents,” said Kristin Crane, Director of Community Impact and Research for United Way. “While we hear about housing all the time, we don’t hear how it’s affecting our neighbours, our friends, our coworkers. Our goal was to tell those stories.”
The report is called Our Stories of the Housing Crisis. It analyzes over 700 survey responses from Perth-Huron residents and lays out the major trends. Among other things, rising housing costs have left residents stuck in inappropriate housing, forced them to cut back on essentials like groceries, and degraded their financial and psychological well-being.
Just as importantly, the report demonstrates that, “it is real people behind all the cries for help,” in the words of a West Perth resident. Almost half of the report is direct quotes from Perth-Huron residents. That’s because the survey featured open-ended questions to which respondents wrote their own answers.
“Our open-ended survey questions let people share what they felt was most relevant,” said Crane. “It also let us capture their unique voices, their heartbreak, their wisdom, and even their humour in the face of adversity.”
Those open-ended responses also allowed researchers to get a better sense of how Perth-Huron residents think and feel about the housing crisis.
“These stories have so much in pain in them and such a deep sense of unfairness,” said Crane. “This has been a harrowing experience for many Perth-Huron residents, and they want change.”
A common thread in the responses inspired the report’s recommendation: that governments and community organizations should set ambitious regional targets for new community housing and make serious investments to achieve them.
“Respondents want housing to be affordable. They support new housing, particularly new affordable housing,” said Crane. “That’s a great project for governments, non-profits, and all of us to take on in 2026.”
Read the report HERE.