Housing reaches flash point
By SHEENA JACKSON Abbotsford News
Oct 06 2007
"This type of meeting, for me, is the only thing that actually makes me believe we will actually win this battle," Housing Minister Rich Coleman told delegates at the opening of a two-day regional affordable housing forum in Abbotsford Thursday night.
And that’s exactly what organizers of the Partnerships for Affordable Housing forum hope will happen as they tackle the issue in the Fraser Valley.
"Over the past few years the price of housing has increased rapidly, the population is increasing and really there is no new rental accommodation being developed at all. The crunch has just finally hit and not only in this city, but in Mission and Chilliwack and Agassiz," said Glenn Hope of the United Way of the Fraser Valley (UWFV).
"They’re facing the same problems that Abbotsford is. It’s right across the Valley and its just got to a crisis point where people are saying, ‘You know what? We have to do something.’"
The sentiments are shared by Abbotsford city councillor John Smith, chair of a city sub-committee on affordable housing, part of the Abbotsford Social Development Advisory Committee.
"It’s an opportunity for property owners, particularly the non profits, the churches, to come together with the developers and to show how proposals could be put together," Smith said.
"I hope by bringing together all this chemistry, all these various critical parts together, we’ll get people leaving here with the germs of ideas to take back to congregations and churches, their development industry and get together and let’s start creating affordable housing."
With average house prices in Abbotsford in the mid-$400,000 range Smith believes the market is "beyond the reach of any young couple, unless they’ve got wealthy parents prepared to put up money, it just isn’t going to happen for them."
But it’s not just those entering the market for the first time that are affected, as Deb Lowell of the Abbotsford branch of the Salvation Army highlights the plight of the homeless.
The Salvation Army’s Outreach program has seen success, housing 180 people living in the bush – Compassion Park – in Abbotsford about a year and a half ago. She still has a
list of more than 200 people desperate to find an affordable home, but Lowell is optimistic.
"Everybody can make a difference – whether it’s a $5 or $10 donation," she said.
"If that’s all you can manage or, if it’s your church which is sitting on a bunch of land which they’re not sure what to do with or an individual who is sitting on some land who wants to make a difference in our community, anything like that. We would love to be able to talk to those kind of people because it’s going to take all of us working together to end this issue."
Making strides is the More Than a Roof Mennonite Housing Society, building 87 housing units – Kindred Place – for supportive housing for low income singles, with 30 units for people recovering from addictions. It’s not the agency’s first project. It has complexes in Maple Ridge, Vancouver Island and Prince George, which house 950 people at risk of homelessness.
"We’ve been doing this for about 22 years and we’ve had some modest successes in some areas, particularly as communities are looking at the growing homelessness problem," Epp said.
Evidence partnerships can work, Epp explained the project involves a number of partners, including the province, the Canada Mortgage Corporation, the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Coastal Health, all of which are providing substantial grants and support.
Mission Mayor James Atebe and Hope Mayor Wilfried Vicktor, who also chairs the Fraser Valley Regional District Mayors’ Task Force on Homelessness and Affordable Housing, attended the forum, which was organized by the Fraser Valley Regional District, convened by the UWFV, members of the Abbotsford Christian Leaders Network, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Salvation Army, and municipal staff from Abbotsford, Mission and Chilliwack.
Delegates heard from speakers from Toronto, Kamloops, Mission and Vancouver
The Schacter Team - Langley Real Estate