This report is the culmination of a process that began after the November 2002 National Housing Strategy Day held in Belleville. The Housing Working Group (HWG) was formed and began to meet to figure out how to help the community move forward on the complex issue of homelessness in Hastings County. The formation of the HWG reflected a unique and ground-breaking partnership between very diverse organizations that developed new ways of working together.

The ‘Hastings County Affordable Housing Research Project’ provided an exceptional opportunity to identify the needs and causes of homelessness and understand the “face of homelessness” in our small urban and rural communities. In addition to exploring the needs and difficulties of people who met the traditional definition of being homeless, the research process was designed to ensure we learned more about people who are ‘precariously housed’ and at risk of losing their homes to gather the information that could assist in prevention and community capacity-building.