Frontline workers, for those who are curious, are the ones who are on the front line doing what they can to make our city and the people within it better. Crisis workers, police officers, corrections officers, firefighters, group home workers. The list goes on and on.
This is a touchy subject for me. Small back story. My career started on the frontline. After college, I worked with women fleeing abusive situations at a family shelter. I worked for the TDSB as an at-risk youth worker and I worked in many group homes throughout the city.
I was doing what I thought was good work but yet making no money. At one point I was working for the TDSB working with youth at risk during the day and a home for autistic youth in the evenings and making less than 60 thousand a year. I loved what I did (truly loved it) but after 10 years I was emotionally drained and broke.
No way I could afford a home. Today that is even more of a reality.
Whether you are a school teacher, police officer, firefighter, or early childhood education worker, you are more than likely just getting by and don’t have the money to afford a home in the city. Unless of course, you have a spouse in the private sector or combined salaries. The sad thing is the sole job of our frontline workers is to make life better, and safer. The reason why Toronto is one of the best cities in the world is because of the people who are tasked to protect us, teach us, and keep us safe.
Frontline workers typically after rent, groceries, and other necessities have nothing left to put towards any savings.
Some people will say who cares about this. Others will say they chose that job knowing it's not a high-paying sector. I say, it sucks. It sucks that there are people out there whose job it is to ensure our kids get an education, and our families feel safe. Yet they cannot afford to buy a home in our amazing city.
In saying that. There are a few things that can be done to help with that. There are a few parts of the city where home prices have not yet caught up to the rest of the city.
There are also mortgage options and things you can do like teaming up with friends for your first property.
None of these things are ideal but they are options. If you want to learn more or talk about your potential options, reach out, and let’s chat!
