Affordable Housing a (Smoking) Hot Issue for Peterborough Calendar Girls

A "teaser" photo sent out by Peterborough Calendar Girls.

“Sexy” sells.

And a group of local women are hoping that “sexy” will sell ideas too — ideas that just might shape how Peterborough views the affordable housing crisis in Peterborough.

While the details remain shrouded in mystery, this much is known: In the past few days, a Peterborough Calendar Girls Twitter account has appeared online.  A Facebook page has popped up as well.  Then came a short and simple media release:

The Naked Truth About
The Affordable Housing Shortage in Peterborough

Naked Truth #1: At 1,500 families, Peterborough has one of the longest waiting lists for affordable housing in Ontario.

Naked Truth #2:  25% of Peterborough tenants are paying more than half of their income on rent.  In some cases, people are paying up to 80 per cent of their income on rent.

Naked truth #3: More than half of Peterborough renter households can’t afford a one-bedroom apartment.

There is hope.  One group of Peterborough women are taking matters into their own hands [editor’s comment: note the hockey glove accompanying photo].

Follow @PtboCalndrGirls on Twitter and like Peterborough Calendar Girls on Facebook for updates in the coming weeks and to help spread the Naked Truth. Full details will be revealed on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

The cheekiness of the campaign seems to be working.  Since yesterday, the @PtboCalndrGirls Twitter account has gained almost 100 followers — pretty darned good by Peterborough standards.  Their Facebook page, meanwhile, has garnered almost 200 “Likes” — excellent numbers indeed.

Trading emails with a person associated with the Peterborough Calendar Girls, I was able to tease out the fact that the identities of the actual calendar girls will also be released on October 9th.  Here’s to hoping that this slow reveal will generate plenty of attention.  Here’s also to hoping that attention to our affordable housing crisis will increase alongside it.  It is an issue that deserves the spotlight.

I look forward to watching this campaign roll out.  From the looks of things, they have some media-savvy organizers who know how to generate community conversation.   Plus, it is always inspiring to see a group of individuals, uh…  drop the gloves… in the fight against local economic disparity.