Province's cash infusion helps affordable housing in Hat
astephenson@medicinehatnews.com
A massive three-year injection of funds from the provincial government has left Medicine Hat with more affordable housing options than ever before, but the number of low- income families on the waiting list keeps growing.
“The economic downturn has definitely had an impact,” says Karen Charlton, general manager of community development for the City of Medicine Hat. She says that in April 2009 there were 130 households waiting for an affordable housing rental unit — that number had skyrocketed to 220 at the end of December 2009.
The Medicine Hat Community Housing Society, the non-profit agency that looks after affordable housing in the city, offers several options for low-income families. Rent supplements are available, giving tenants who qualify the freedom to choose where they live. In addition, the Community Housing Society manages affordable housing rental units, in which rent is based on 30 per cent of combined household income.
The city has been making great strides in this area, thanks to a three-year provincial
affordable housing program. In August 2009, the Community Housing Society cut the ribbon on a 50-unit affordable housing project located at Southlands Crossing. The provincial government contributed $7.1 million toward that project, while the City of Medicine Hat donated land valued at $1.1 million.
This winter, the city issued a request for proposals to find a developer willing to build what will be the second project taken on with funds from the province’s three-year program. The project will consist of 15-20 one-bedroom units in the Southlands area. And the city has submitted an application to the province to access the third phase of funding under the program — approximately $1.6 million — and plans to build an additional 15-20 units if that application is successful.
“We’ve done remarkably well getting units into our community when you compare us to other municipalities,” Charlton says.
That doesn’t mean the problem is solved, however. The Medicine Hat Community Housing Society says 1,140 people accessed emergency shelters in Medicine Hat in 2009, and estimates that the number of people facing eviction in the city rose by 40 per cent in the last half of the year.
NEWS PHOTO EMMA BENNETT
In August 2009, the Community Housing Society cut the ribbon on this 50-unit affordable housing project, located at Southlands Crossing. A second project is in the works, and will consist of 15-20 one- bedroom units in the Southlands area. While an injection of funds from the provincial government has provided Medicine Hat with the ability to add to affordable housing options, the demand of low- income families needing homes in the city continues to rise.
While acknowledging that the city may be competing with the private sector by building these units at a time when vacancy rates are higher than they’ve been for years, Ald. Ty Schneider says he would like to see Medicine Hat do even more. He says he worries that when the economy recovers and vacancy rates get lower, landlords will raise their rents
and some families who are barely getting by will no longer be able to make ends meet.
“I think we should be building more of these,” Schneider says. “We need to ensure that we look after our citizens, and we need to ensure that they have a place to live.”
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