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September - 2007Province tackles affordable housing crisis
By Cheryl Petten
Sage Staff Writer
SASKATOONThe Saskatchewan government is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to addressing the shortage of affordable housing in the province.
Over the past few weeks, the government has announced a slew of projects aimed at increasing the amount of affordable housing in Saskatchewan. Many of those projects will see more affordable housing created in northern communities, while others are geared specifically to providing affordable housing options to First Nation and Métis people living in urban centres.
At the end of August, the province announced the official opening of a number of housing developments in the north-two renovated fourplexes in Cumberland House that will provide additional affordable rental housing to single people and childless couples in the community; a new modular housing project in Sandy Bay that will provide affordable housing to 10 families; a four-unit rental housing project in Air Ronge that will accommodate four families; a two-unit development that will provide affordable housing for low-income single people and small families in Ile a la Crosse; 12 new rental units for low-income families in La Loche; and eight one-bedroom housing units that will provide additional affordable housing to the residents of Beauval.
On Aug. 21, a new affordable rental housing project officially opened up in North Battleford.
The 89-unit project is owned by the Nationswest Housing Corporation, a non-profit organization created by the Battlefords Tribal Council. The project was funded jointly by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, the City of North Battleford and Nationswest.
A week later, another affordable housing complex was officially opened in Regina. Red Ribbon Place, a joint venture between the All Nations Hope AIDS Network and AIDS Program South Saskatchewan, will provide 12 affordable apartments for low-income individuals and families.
But the bulk of the announcements concerned bringing more affordable housing to Saskatoon.
On Aug. 16, the province issued a news release about its commitment to provide funding for Sasknative Rentals' plans to buy and renovate two apartment buildings to create 70 affordable rental units for Aboriginal families in the city.
On Aug 20, another announcement was made, this one touting the province's plan to partner with the City of Saskatoon and One Arrow First Nation to fund renovation of an inner-city apartment building to provide affordable housing to 15 First Nation families.
In addition to the new projects, the official opening of two new rental housing projects in Saskatoon was also announced in August-a newly renovated apartment building that will provide 12 new affordable rental units for Métis families and individuals, and a 12 unit apartment building that was renovated with funds from the provincial and federal governments, the City of Saskatoon and the Saskatoon Tribal Council and that will provide affordable housing for First Nation families moving from their reserve to Saskatoon.
Another government announcement, made by Community Resource Minister Kevin Yates on Aug. 29, will see an increase in the amount of the shelter allowances paid out to social assistance and transitional employment allowance recipients.
Lower income families and people with disabilities that are receiving the Saskatchewan rental housing supplement will also see the amount they receive increase, as will individuals receiving the provincial training allowance.
The allowance increase is part of the provincial government's overall strategy to deal with housing concerns. Announced on Aug. 8 by Kevin Yates, Justice Minister Frank Quennell and Judy Junor, minister of the Crown Investments Corporation and minister responsible for the Status of Women, the strategy included a series of consultation meetings, which took place in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert during the month of August. Junor, who was asked by the premier to look into the housing situation in the province's urban centres, took part in the roundtable sessions, gathering input from community leaders-including representatives from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and local tribal councils-and service delivery providers. The recommendations coming out of those meetings have been submitted to the premier, but they have yet to be released to the public.
The province has also launched a toll-free housing information line - 1-888-3-HOME-07 (1-888-346-6307).
The information line will provide people with assistance if they are having troubles finding affordable accommodations or are facing large rent increases or possible eviction. The information line will be manned seven days a week-from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Callers to the line will receive information about the programs or services that can best help them with their current situation, whether it be a government program or an organization or business operating out in the community.
"We find as we're meeting with people that they don't know what's out there. And we think, we have the services that we're offering so we don't have people living in campsites and women with four children not having anyplace to go. We think, we've got that covered. But then we hear from women that they don't know about these things, or where to call, or aren't getting the response that they need," Junor said.
Having well-trained and knowledgeable staff in place manning the information line will be key to its success, Junor explained.
"We don't want people calling in and getting, press one for this and star for that and whatever. They want to talk to a person. They want to know that that person knows where to send them. Because the person will have to know quite clearly what's available and where to direct the person to get the best service. And that has to happen in a timely manner because many of these people are facing issues that are pretty much 'Hurry up and find me something because I've been told I can't live here anymore.' And so we can't have a lot of to-ing and fro-ing about whose responsible for what and where things are," she said.
There's an amazing array of support systems out there. And I think one of the big challenges we have is to make sure people know them. And that we make them work for them. Sometimes we're not terribly flexible, and I find that that's something that we also need-to think outside the box. And we need to be flexible in applying some of the things that we do have."