The Affordable Housing Committee at York University was established in 2016 to improve the housing situation for York University students, workers and members of the wider community.
We are students, professors, staff, alumni and community members working towards:
- Organizing our community around housing issues
- Educating our community on their housing rights
- Advocacy with the university, all levels of government, housing providers and others
Our primary goal is to facilitate the creation of new affordable housing at or near York University's three campuses - Keele, Glendon and Markham.
There is a unique opportunity to create affordable housing co-operatives with renewed interest from all levels of government to fund affordable housing. There are over 150 housing co-ops throughout Toronto, many of which have been built through union support; however, very few new affordable housing buildings have been built since the 1990's because of neoliberal budget cuts to affordable housing programs. One of the last housing co-ops built was the Harry Sherman Crowe Housing Co-op at York University, which was the result of the efforts of labour unions at York University organizing to lobby, finance and build.
The committee is working to build capacity and partnerships, conduct research and applying for funding towards our goal of creating high-quality affordable housing. We hope to see new affordable housing completed by 2026.
