How Communities Across Newfoundland Are Responding to Housing Insecurity
In the icy wind of Newfoundland’s winter, the lights of small towns shimmer across the bay. One evening in Corner Brook, residents gathered outside the town hall to sign a simple declaration: “Everyone deserves a home.”
They were not politicians or developers, just neighbours, volunteers, and social workers. For them, housing was not a statistic; it was a shared duty.
This local event was part of National Housing Day, organized by the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Homelessness Network (NLHHN).
As the province’s only network focused on rural and remote housing issues, NLHHN has spent the past year pursuing one clear goal: making the idea of home reachable, even far from the city.
Not Everyone Lives in the City
In national data tables, Newfoundland and Labrador often appear as a single number. But the housing crisis here has many faces.
In St. John’s, the vacancy rate has dropped to around two percent, and rents continue to climb, pushing low-income renters to the brink.
In smaller coastal towns, the crisis looks different. Aging wooden houses, high heating costs, and limited affordable options leave many residents in unsafe or unstable housing. They may not be “homeless” in the traditional sense, but insecurity and isolation are part of daily life.
As NLHHN’s Strategic Plan 2025–2028 notes, homelessness is not always about sleeping outside. It can also mean living without safety or certainty.
The Urban Hub: End Homelessness St. John’s
In the provincial capital, End Homelessness St. John’s (EHSJ) serves as the system coordinator.
Through the federal Reaching Home program, EHSJ funds case-management positions across ten agencies, helping more than 140 people move into stable housing. Its Supported Referrals Fund has prevented over 90 evictions by covering deposits, utilities, and rental arrears.
EHSJ also partners with NL Housing Corporation and NL Health Services to operate Horizons at 106, a 100-unit transitional housing building where tenants hold leases and receive on-site supports.
Together, these initiatives form the city’s “hub system.” Through Coordinated Access to Homes (CAH), EHSJ ensures that housing placements are guided by need rather than chance.
Beyond the Capital: Building a Network of Towns
As the city’s system matured, NLHHN extended this coordinated model outward.
In November 2025, the Community Coalition on Housing and Homelessness (CCHH) represented the network at a municipal conference in Corner Brook. There, mayors, councillors, and business leaders explored the connection between housing, community, and well-being, and signed the National Housing Day Proclamation affirming that housing stability begins with local collaboration.
These partnerships have helped transform NLHHN into a province-wide connector. Its strategic plan calls for shared data platforms and a unified advocacy voice linking the province’s ten Community Advisory Boards, ensuring that regions from Labrador West to Clarenville can learn from one another.
The Warm Current of Community
NLHHN’s Network News from December 2025 shows how this collaboration takes shape on the ground.
In Clarenville, the “Fill-A-Tent” campaign invited residents to stuff a tent with warm clothing and food for neighbours in need. In Stephenville, a Community Café served holiday meals to more than 200 people. In Labrador West, Lifewise hosted mental-health workshops to support families.
Together, these acts form a community-level safety net, built not from bureaucracy, but from empathy and shared effort.
Looking Ahead: A Stronger Collective Voice
In its 2025–2028 Strategic Plan, NLHHN outlines three priorities:
- Strengthening cooperation with the ten regional advisory boards
- Creating a province-wide training system to enhance front-line capacity
- Amplifying the provincial voice on rural and remote housing issues
The plan coincides with a new provincial commitment to build 10,000 affordable housing units. NLHHN is now working directly with government partners to ensure community perspectives inform policy decisions, marking a shift from advocacy toward measurable influence.
What “Home” Means on This Island
As night falls, lights begin to glow across coastal hills. Volunteers pack donated clothing. Neighbours set tables for the next community dinner.
On this island, home is not defined by square footage, but by the space people make for one another.
Sociologist Matthew Desmond once wrote, “Without stable housing, everything else falls apart.” In Newfoundland, that stability is being rebuilt steadily and collectively, from island to town, from action to connection.
Written by: Chuyu Yan, Volunteer Contributing Writer, CharityAxess Writers Program
About the Writer: Chuyu Yan is a Sociology and Book & Media Studies student at the University of Toronto. Passionate about exploring the social factors behind mental health and inequality, she uses storytelling to make complex ideas accessible and relatable. With experience in research, writing, and media creation, Chuyu aims to highlight unseen social dynamics and amplify voices often overlooked, connecting readers through empathy, clarity, and reflection.
Photo Credit: Bruna Santos
