Take Action - Contact Your Local Councillors

Local policy and funding decisions have a direct impact on housing for people with disabilities in Brant County. Your voice matters.

Use the template letter below to reach out to your City Councillors or candidates and ask them to prioritize accessible, supportive housing in our community.

Take 5 Minutes to Help Shape the Future

One email. Five minutes. A lifetime of impact.

It takes less than five minutes to send this email, but your voice can help bring much-needed attention to one of the most urgent and overlooked issues facing families in our community.

Candidates want to know what matters to the people they hope to represent. When many residents raise the same issue, it sends a powerful message that this is a priority that cannot be ignored. Your email helps ensure that housing and support for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities becomes part of the conversation during this election and part of the decisions that shape our community for years to come.

One email may seem small, but when hundreds of residents speak with one voice, elected leaders listen.

We've created a template to make it easy.

How to Participate and Use Your Voice TODAY!

1. Copy and paste the email template below into a new email.

2. Personalize it by adding your own story or explaining why this issue matters to you. Even a few sentences about your family's experience or your connection to the community can make your message more meaningful.

3. Send it to the candidates using the contact information provided below. We recommend sending it to both the City of Brantford and County of Brant candidates, regardless of where you live, because housing is a joint initiative that they collaborate on, including the Brantford-Brant Housing Stability Plan 2025-2035 and Mayors’ Housing Partnership Taskforce.

4. Share it. Encourage your family, friends, neighbours, colleagues, and anyone who cares about building a more inclusive community to send an email too.

  • Subject: Housing and Support Must Be a Priority in Our Community

    Dear Candidate,

    I am a local resident writing to ask that housing and support solutions for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities become a priority during this and future terms of council and government. As Brantford and Brant County work together to implement their shared Housing Stability Plan and plan for future housing initiatives, I encourage you to ensure that adults with developmental disabilities are included in these strategies from the outset - not as an afterthought.

    Like many families in our community, my family is deeply concerned about the future. [Share your story here. For example: "My son is 28 years old and currently lives at home with us. As we age, we worry about what will happen when we are no longer able to provide the housing and support he depends on."]

    This is not just a housing issue. It is a community issue. Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve the opportunity to live in safe, appropriate, accessible, affordable, stable, supported, inclusive, and sustainable homes. Access to safe housing is a protected human right under the Ontario Human Rights Code and a fundamental social determinant of health, essential to long-term wellbeing, dignity, and inclusion. This aligns directly with Brantford and Brant County’s stated commitments that safe, accessible housing is foundational to healthy and complete communities, and that communities thrive when everyone has a place to call home. 

    We need you - our municipal leaders - to recognize this responsibility cannot be deferred to provincial systems or local agencies alone. The reality is that the disability support system is severely underfunded and unable to meet demand, leaving tens of thousands of individuals and families under sustained and escalating pressure.

    In Ontario, there are an estimated 65,000 adults with developmental disabilities, yet only about 18,000 receive residential supports. Families often wait 10 years or longer for supportive housing, with wait times estimated to be ten times longer than in the general affordable housing system. For many, appropriate supports may never materialize within their lifetime. As a result, individuals are pushed into crisis situations including homelessness, institutionalization, incarceration, or prolonged hospitalization - placing avoidable strain on already overburdened local services like hospitals, long-term care homes, emergency services, and shelters. Aging parents and caregivers are being pushed to the breaking point of physical, mental and financial exhaustion as they continue to provide care at home with no long-term alternatives. This is happening today -  right in my home and right in your community. 

    We need you to demonstrate leadership and innovation in housing by ensuring that people with developmental disabilities are explicitly included in Brantford and Brant County’s joint municipal housing strategy. If we are serious about meeting housing targets and building an inclusive community, then this population must be recognized and planned for within all housing and growth strategies - not treated as an afterthought.

    I am asking you to:

    • Recognize housing and support needs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities as a community priority.
    • Include this population in Brantford and Brant County’s housing, accessibility, planning, and growth strategies, including the 2030 affordable housing goals and the Housing Stability Plan
    • Support policies and investments that encourage accessible, inclusive, and affordable housing options.
    • Work with families, service providers, housing organizations, and community partners to develop long-term solutions.
    • Advocate for provincial and federal funding that supports both housing development and the supports required for successful community living.
    • Ensure that future housing developments consider the needs of people with developmental disabilities and other vulnerable populations.

    I would welcome the opportunity to hear your thoughts on this issue and learn how you plan to support housing and support solutions for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in our community.

    Thank you for your time, leadership, and commitment to our community.

    Sincerely,
    [Your Name]
    [Municipality]
    [Postal Code]
    [Email Address]
    [Phone Number]


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