|
HOUSING
AGAIN • Bulletin No 78
February,
2005 The Housing Again Bulletin, sponsored by
Raising the Roof A monthly electronic bulletin
highlighting what people are doing to put Our web sites are: Housing Again Raising the Roof Shared Learnings on
Homelessness Raising the Roof If you have any tips for the Bulletin please
e-mail: **************************************** Feature: U.S. trend to criminalize homeless moves
north News Briefs: Toques Tuesday; Community housing consultation
update; Toronto study on gentrification. **************************************** B.C. creates new supportive housing
developments Last December, more than 100 new supportive
and affordable housing units opened to house seniors and people with
disabilities in Surrey, British Columbia. Sometimes, it’s not just about finding
an affordable home, which is a huge hurdle in and of itself. Many people require
support to live safely and with dignity. Kiwanis Park Place is managed by Crescent
Housing Society, which also provided the land, valued at over $4.8 million.
CMHC provided mortgage insurance and the provincial government, through BC
Housing, contributed a $600,000 grant. The Real Estate Foundation of British
Columbia also provided a grant of $75,000. “Kiwanis Park Place is an innovative
partnership between the federal and provincial governments, and Crescent Housing
Society to provide supportive housing to seniors in their own community," said
Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Kevin Falcon. All apartments in the new development are
one-bedroom and wheelchair accessible. Residents have access to onsite crafts,
exercise facilities, meeting rooms and lounges. Services offered include an
evening meal program twice a week, home deliveries from the library, and 24-hour
emergency response. "Crescent Housing Society has been working
on the expansion of Kiwanis Park Place for several years," said society
president Victor Curtis. "Our goal was to build housing that was
cost-effective; providing features that would assist seniors to stay active and
independent.” Last year, the B.C. government increased
funding for housing programs to more than $154.4 million, the largest level ever
in B.C. The society is managing just one of a number of new
developments in B.C. A groundbreaking ceremony was also held early this
year for Evergreen Heights, a new affordable assisted living housing
development in White Rock. The new development will provide 84 assisted-living
apartments for seniors under the ILBC program. The development, which is expected to open in early
2006, is the first publicly funded assisted living apartments in the South
Surrey-White Rock community. The Evergreen Heights Baptist Housing Society,
which provides housing for independent seniors and residential care for people
with complex needs, will own and operate the development. The B.C. government has committed to
providing 3,500 affordable apartments with support services across the province
by 2006. To date, 2,458 ILBC units have been allocated or over 70 per cent of
the program in communities across the province. http://www.bchousing.org/New/n12070401.asp
**************************************** Toronto
considers banning camping in public spaces After nine hours of emotional deputations this month,
a council committee voted to approve Mayor David Miller’s “Streets into
Homes” plan, which includes a new by-law to “nudge” overnight sleepers away from
city hall property by making “camping” illegal. “I am absolutely opposed to the mayor’s plan to
criminalize the homeless, which is a violation of human rights,” said councillor
Michael Walker. “This is all just shameful and it won’t make the homeless
go away.” “This plan does not criminalize the homeless,” said
Patchen Barss from the mayor’s
office. “No one will be arrested and we are absolutely committed to finding
solutions to homelessness.” The mayor has defended the strategy as just one
aspect of the strategy that will only be used as a last resort.
“The situation in Toronto for the homeless is getting
worse by the day,” said Sarah Ayers
of the Toronto Disaster Relief
Committee. “We proposed amendments to the plan, but the councillors wouldn’t
listen.” “Toronto’s plan starts off on a high note,” said Michael Shapcott, co-chair of the
National Housing and Homelessness Network. “It puts housing first as a
solution to homelessness. But, it allocates no new money to housing and
significantly lowers the targets for building new affordable
housing.” Shapcott said the trend doesn’t seem to be widespread
in Canada – at least not as yet. But, given that anti-panhandling laws have been
successfully challenged in court as unconstitutional, this type of strategy
should be expected. “Politicians don’t enforce by-laws,” Shapcott said.
“It will be up to the police. Unfortunately, too many people think that forcibly
removing people from the streets is a solution to homelessness.”
**************************************** Hats off.... It's Toque
Time! Raising the Roof's annual “Toque Tuesday Campaign” kicks off on
Tuesday, February 8th. The national campaign, in partnership with
The Home Depot, gives people from all walks of life the chance to raise
funds, raise fun and raise awareness in the fight against homelessness in
Canada. “We encourage everyone to purchase and, most
importantly, wear a toque to raise awareness and funds for Canada’s homeless,”
said Executive Director Jennifer Parnell. Warm your head and your heart! Buy your special Raising The Roof toque at any of
the 109 The Home Depot stores across the country in exchange for a minimum $10
donation to support programs and initiatives. You will be helping to make a
difference in the lives of thousands of men, women and children who are homeless
or at risk of homelessness. Check out the website to find the store closest to
home; to order on-line. http://www.raisingtheroof.org/tp-toque-index.cfm
Housing
consultations well received Respected Toronto Star editor
Carol Goar says she approached the housing
consultations organized by Ottawa's National Homelessness Secretariat recently
in Toronto with “minimal expectations.” But, she left impressed both by
the expertise and insightful ideas presented by the community presenters and the
rapt attention and intelligent questions posed by the government
representatives. Neighbourhood
gentrification five-year study
David Hulchanski, Director of the Centre for Urban and Community
Studies at the University of Toronto, and St. Christopher House
were recently awarded $1 million from the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council, Community-University Research Alliance program for a five-year
research project. Community Gentrification &
Building Inclusive Communities from Within: A case study of Toronto's
west-central neighbourhoods will focus on the lived experiences of
low-income people in neighbourhoods in transition. http://www.urbancentre.utoronto.ca/researchprojects.html
**************************************** SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: The Housing Again e-bulletin is distributed
by e-mail free of charge Please circulate this e-bulletin to your
friends and colleagues. **************************************** |
Housing Again Bulletin No 78.doc