Getting home.

Housing and homelessness is what I spend my days thinking about. Through my six years on the Board and now working for the Right at Home Housing Society, I have had the opportunity to learn about these issues that I care so much about.

I’ve spoken in the past about how housing is the foundation for ending poverty, but in truth I believe it’s the foundation for all of us to thrive. A home provides us with the solid basis we all need to build our lives and reach our full capacity.

For many, this basic building block of life is not in place. In O-day’min, an affordable place to call home is out of reach for over 15,000 households who spend more than a third of their income on housing. While varying in concentration, this is an issue that spans our entire ward. We also know there are hundreds in our community that currently have no place to call home, relying on temporary shelters or braving the elements outdoors.

Ending homelessness and tackling housing affordability is a complex challenge that requires a lot of pieces to come together. While it’s true that we need to ensure we receive our fair share of housing funding from the Provincial and Federal government, there are plenty of tools that City Council can use to work towards ensuring an affordable home for everyone. 

Focus on housing for the homeless 

The current structure of City grants tends to deliver units that are considered low-end-of-market - usually about 80% of average market rates. While all levels of affordability are important, this approach generally doesn’t directly help those currently living without a home. These grants should be restructured to prioritize deeply subsidized, bridge, and permanent supportive housing that will meet the greatest housing needs in our community and help end homelessness. I’m excited that the City recently stepped up with additional dollars to supplement the Federal Rapid Housing Initiative, which will support a number of projects, including the conversion of vacant hotels into housing. This is a great start to delivering the units we need in a short time frame.

Provide the right supports

We need to ensure that housing isn’t just a roof overhead - it’s also about providing the right wrap around supports to ensure people can thrive in their new homes, taking a harm reduction and person-centered, trauma-informed approach. Organizations like NiGiNan Housing Ventures are doing outstanding work in supportive housing and I believe its essential that more Indigenous-led organizations are empowered to bring their expertise to the table. I’d also like to see the City expand existing programs like Crisis Diversion to focus on more proactive outreach, helping to building relationships and connect folks currently living without a home to the services they need.

Introduce a 1% for housing policy

A 1% for housing policy, similar to the existing Percent For Art program, would ensure that major City infrastructure projects dedicate budget towards affordable housing. This value could be provided through land to avoid additional capital costs. For example, the City has purchased a number of properties along the Valley Line West LRT route that are only needed during construction. Once the LRT line is open, some of these properties could be made available for affordable housing, which would also ensure great access to transit for these residents. Housing could also be co-located with new municipal buildings like libraries and rec centres. These contributions-in-kind would create negligible additional cost to the projects while ensuring more affordable housing options in our community.

Strategically acquire properties

HomeEd is a non-profit housing provider that was established in 1977 to provide  affordable rental units to low to moderate income households. The City is homeEd’s sole shareholder and City Council gets to appoint homeEd’s board. HomeEd also has a mandate to reflect Council priorities in their business planning. 

There is a great opportunity for City Council to direct homeEd to purchase existing apartment buildings across Edmonton. This approach would help to preserve - and improve - existing market-affordable housing, and create a landbank for future affordable housing redevelopment.

Close the loop

Edmonton’s Housing First program does a great job of moving people out of homelessness into housing by providing rental assistance and social service supports for two years. After this point, though, a gap emerges. People who still don’t have the income to afford market rents often end up right back where they started, on the streets with no access to housing. This is an awful outcome for people, and an incredibly inefficient use of our resources. HomeEd units can be targeted to provide transition for these individuals and break the cycle of homelessness. 

Continue making land available

The City’s First Place and surplus school site program provide below market land to support affordable housing. Continuing to prioritize surplus City lands for affordable housing is an important way to ensure more inclusive communities across Edmonton. There is also a great opportunity to explore family-focused housing on schools sites that are at risk of closure. Right at Home’s North Glenora project is a great example of how new affordable housing revitalized the local elementary school, creating a huge benefit for the whole neighbourhood.  

Incentivize affordable units.

Providing bonuses, grants, and tax incentives for mixed-market developments can expand the number of affordable units and create more inclusive communities. This can include things like grants for affordable basement suites or modest increases in unit numbers for larger properties.  

Right-size our regulations.

The City’s zoning and development permitting process play a huge role in the affordability of housing. Creating simple, easy to understand regulations makes it easier for us all to invest in our homes and businesses, and eliminates many of the costs of building new housing. 

These are just some of the initiatives I would champion on Council to make sure the City does its part to help everyone find a place to call home.