The Ontario government is providing an additional $2,121,872 in provincial funding to help keep vulnerable people in Parry Sound-Muskoka safe during COVID-19. The District of Muskoka will receive $1,172,769 from the Social Services Relief Fund while the Parry Sound District Social Services Administration Board will receive $949,103.
“Our government is continuing to provide the resources necessary to protect those residents who rely on housing supports and other social services during the pandemic,” said Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norman Miller. “This new funding from the province is on top of last year’s joint federal-provincial funding that totaled $4.2 million in our area.”
Today’s announcement is part of the province’s additional $255 million investment through the Social Services Relief Fund. This is flexible funding that local service managers and Indigenous program partners can use to protect their clients from COVID-19. For example it could be used to acquire motel and hotel spaces to support physical distancing of homeless individuals, purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies for shelters, purchase food, or add to rent and utility banks to prevent more people from becoming homeless.
“Our government is once again taking immediate action to save lives by responding to the rising number of COVID-19 cases among homeless and other vulnerable people across the province,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “This investment will ensure our municipal service managers can keep vulnerable people safe by providing them with the financial ability to take any means necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19 among their clients.”
Under the Social Services Relief Fund, Ontario has provided $765 million to help service managers and Indigenous program partners support shelters and other social services, create longer-term housing solutions and help vulnerable Ontarians affected by COVID-19, including those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
