Housing is one of the biggest factors that can impact someone’s heath and wellbeing. Ensuring people have access to quality housing that is safe, stable, accessible and affordable promotes positive health outcomes, encourages social inclusion, supports participation in education and employment, and is proven to reduce public costs associated with healthcare and emergency services. Our whole community benefits when people have housing that meets their needs and yet..
Rent is increasing faster than people’s ability to afford it.
0 neighbourhoods in Guelph are affordable for a full-time minimum wage worker.1
Homelessness is rising due to system and policy failures.
308 people were experiencing chronic homelessness in Guelph-Wellington as of July 2026.2
The need for rent-geared-to-income housing is surging.
The centralized waitlist has sharply increased since 2019, with households waiting 5 years on average and some 8+ years.3
Affordable housing is being lost faster than it’s being built.
For every 1 new home added, Canada is losing 11 lower-rent affordable homes.4
YIMBY in Action: The Impact of Saying “Yes”
Because of supporters like you real change is possible and happening.
Guelph-Wellington has long been a leader in preventing and ending homelessness, bringing people together to create lasting solutions. When our community recognized the need for permanent supportive housing for people with complex needs, we took action.
With three new supportive housing projects on the horizon, hundreds of community members, organizations, and local leaders joined efforts through the YIMBY campaign to help make these homes a reality. YIMBY supporters shifted fear to understanding and compassion by writing letters, speaking at council meetings, engaging media, and having conversations with neighbours, coworkers, friends and family.
With strong community support, City Council unanimously supported the projects, funding was secured from all levels of government, and caring support grew. Today, these homes provide safety, stability, and belonging for people who needed them most.
This success shows what’s possible when people like you say Yes in my backyard!
Bring YIMBY Training to Your Group
The Guelph & Wellington Poverty Elimination Collaborative offers YIMBY training for staff teams and community groups. The training builds understanding of the housing challenges facing our community and the solutions needed to address them. Sessions run 1-2 hours and support participants to challenge stigma and misconceptions, have constructive conversations, and help build support for affordable housing solutions and a caring community.
Book a YIMBY training: Email [email protected] to book a session for your team or community group.
Say Yes to Affordable Housing: Take the YIMBY Pledge
Big change is possible when the will to make it happen exists. Solving the affordable housing and homelessness crisis requires bold action and sustained investment from all levels of government. With community support from people like you, ensuring everyone in our community has a place to call home is not only the right thing to do, it’s possible.
By taking the Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY) Pledge, you join a growing community of people who support affordable housing solutions and believe everyone should have a safe, stable, affordable, and accessible place to call home.
By taking the YIMBY Pledge, I commit to:
- Support a welcoming community where everyone can access the housing they need, free from discrimination.
- Challenge stigma and misconceptions by sharing accurate information and building understanding about affordable housing, supportive housing, housing insecurity, and homelessness.
- Encourage others to support housing solutions that meet the diverse needs of our community.
- Help build the public support that gives elected officials and community leaders the confidence to take action on affordable housing and ending homelessness.
I believe that when everyone has a safe, stable, affordable, and accessible place to call home, our whole community benefits. I proudly say Yes in My Backyard.
Sign the YIMBY Pledge
Gratitude acknowledgement: The Poverty Elimination Collaborative is grateful to the following individuals and groups whose work inspired and informed our YIMBY campaign, including the HomeComing Community Choice Coalition, Joy Connelly, BC Housing, Jennifer Van Gennip and Redwood Park Communities.
Sources:
- Lee, Marc, and David Macdonald. Making Rent: The CCPA’s Rental Wage Update 2024. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sept. 2025. ↩︎
- Wellington-Guelph By Name Data, County of Wellington, July 2026. ↩︎
- County of Wellington. Housing Services Reports & Data. Wellington County, https://www.wellington.ca/programmes-services/housing-services-supports/housing-services-reports-data. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025. ↩︎
- Pomeroy, Steve. Filling the Hole in the Bucket: Loss of Existing Affordable Rentals Massively Undermining New Affordable Supply. Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative, Feb. 2024. ↩︎