HOUSING AGAIN • BulletinNumber 96 November 1, 2006 The Housing Again
Bulletin, sponsored by Raising the Roof A monthly electronic
bulletin highlighting what people are doing to Our web sites are: Housing Again Shared Learnings on
Homelessness Raising the Roof If you have any tips for the Bulletin please e-mail: ---------------------------------------------------
Feature: Attention Focuses on
Expiring Affordable Housing Initiatives
Community Profile: McMan
Focuses on Youth Strengths in Calgary
News Briefs: November 22nd is
National Housing Day; Blueprint to End Homelessness; National Network on Youth
Homelessness ----------------------------------------------- Attention Focuses on Expiring Affordable Housing
Initiatives Affordable housing activists have been working overtime recently to draw attention to the expiring Affordable Housing Initiative programs. Local and national media have responded positively by focusing stories and editorials on the need to build affordable housing. Along with these efforts, on-going advocacy by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has helped produce a notice of motion in Parliament calling for a three- year renewal of funding for the programs.
Canadian Housing and Renewal Association Executive Director Sharon Chisholm was instrumental in organizing a well-attended news conference on October 19 in Ottawa. CHRA also convened a meeting of provincial groups to discuss how to push a stronger housing agenda for Canada. And other activists organized a follow-up media conference on Parliament Hill on October 26, with Liberal leader Bill Graham, Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe and NDP leader Jack Layton. “We are calling upon the Conservative Government not to cut these essential programs and to announce that they will be continued before we go into the budget process,” said CHRA President, Karen Charlton. “With the NHI, Canada has begun to make real progress in creating the necessary infrastructure of coordinated services and supportive housing and in making more efficient use of existing resources.” “But the scale of the problem is growing and if we are to achieve the goal of eliminating homelessness from our streets and cities, these efforts and funding must continue,” Charlton said. “In a country like Canada, with a recently announced surplus of $13 billion, homelessness should be falling and not rising. Canada’s Aboriginal communities on and off reserve need immediate attention if we are to harness the increasingly important potential of young Aboriginals,” she added. CHRA also wants to see an increase in funding for affordable housing. “Affordable, mixed housing can play a major role in lifting neighbourhoods that are in social, economic and physical decline into places of opportunity,” said Chisholm. “But with so few units of affordable housing being built—under 6,000 new units per year in the past five years, compared to 25,000 per year in the past—poverty concentrations continue to grow in Canadian cities, and those who are least able to pay the rent end up on the streets,” added Chisholm. CHRA has also called on the federal government to put in place a low income housing retrofit program to replace the one cancelled. Energy retrofits are an effective way to reduce emissions, while also providing some relief from growing “energy poverty.” After the media conference last week,
Federal Housing Minister Diane
Finley issued a statement saying the federal government is committed to
helping the homeless, but not necessarily through existing programs. The
Minister said that the government is studying how best to alleviate homelessness
and promised that any new programs will have at least as much money as the
existing ones. -------------------------------------------------
NEWS
BRIEFS:
November 22nd is National Housing
Day November 22nd is National Housing Day to commemorate the
anniversary of the Big Blueprint to End
Homelessness The Wellesley Institute has launched a Blueprint to End Homelessness in Toronto – part of an ongoing initiative to focus on housing solutions. Wellesley is also committed to working with local housing and homelessness advocates in other communities to assist them in developing local plans. Michael Shapcott facilitated a day-long workshop in Halifax and future sessions are planned in Edmonton, Vancouver and Montreal, with more to follow. www.wellesleyinstitute.com/theblueprint National Network on Youth
Homelessness On behalf of the St. John's Youth
Conference Planning Committee, Sheldon
Pollett reports that work is proceeding quickly on developing a National
Network on Youth Homelessness. The Transition Team, which also includes Jill Pitman, April Williams, Sean Gadon, and Barry Reider , participated in a
preliminary meeting in Toronto on November 1st to discuss the initial steps in
establishing a larger Steering Committee tasked with developing the network. In
addition, Pollett said, a report will be presented at the Raising the
Roof’s board meeting on November 3rd. The
network will also be discussed at the national Youth Homelessness Learning
Community meeting being launched by Eva's Initiatives in Toronto (November
2-3), to determine how this group can support the formation and goals of the new
network. --------------------------------------------------- The Housing
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