More housing projects were announced Friday to meet the critical need for emergency shelter and affordable housing.

And while the community groups spearheading the initiatives applaud the government assistance to date, they say so much more work is still left to be done.

The three levels of government pledged several million dollars Friday to support ongoing housing projects by Stella’s Circle and Choices for Youth.

That includes work to renovate a former office building in downtown St. John’s, as well as units on Cabot Street for at-risk young women and mothers.

Sheldon Pollett with Choices for Youth shed some emotion relating first-hand accounts of young women and youth in desperate situations.

And while he expressed gratitude for the government support, he tempered it with some sobering numbers.

Pollett says that of the 306 referrals they had to the “soft-landing” program last year, 175 of those young people are still unhoused or unsafely housed.

“There’s good work, and progress, but there is still work to be done, and there are challenges to meet the need and the demand,” he said.