Latest news with #HousingFirst
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Multi-million dollar housing complex in Watson Lake, Yukon, still vacant months after it was built
It's been a few months since a 10-unit housing complex was built in Watson Lake, Yukon, and according to officials it's still sitting vacant. The $13-million building is located at 807 Lakeview Avenue was built as part of the Yukon government's "Housing First" initiative which aims to provide permanent, low-barrier housing for people at risk of homelessness. It was completed in March. However, the territory says it's had trouble finding anyone to operate the facility. "We did go through a number of procurement processes looking for an operator and no one has yet come forward," said Anne Aram, director of homelessness and housing services with the territory's Department of Health and Social Services. In a 2023 news release, the government said that the Watson Lake Housing First complex would be operated by the Department of Health and Social Services and other key partners once complete. Aram said now that the building is finally completed another community needs assessment is necessary to fully understand how exactly the building might best be used in the community. "If indeed the community is determining we want a building with 24/7 oversight, an operator would then have to have a significant staff team and some experience in operating 24/7 facilities," Aram said. "If indeed this is not determined to not need a 24/7 oversight and we're looking at other supports, that will be determined when we have those conversations." The 8,628-square-foot building has two barrier-free bachelor units, six regular bachelor units, and two one-bedroom units. Building features include a reception area, a separate programming space, a multi-purpose room with a full kitchen, and barrier-free public/staff washrooms. As of this month, 21 people have applied for a unit in the complex and are currently on the wait list. Aram said the Yukon Government is working with the Town of Watson Lake and the Liard First Nation on the next steps forward. In the meantime, the building will remain vacant until a plan, or an operator, is secured. Chris Irvin is the former mayor of Watson Lake, and was part of the planning process when the project first began. He said he's frustrated to see that the building is still vacant. "How can you spend this kind of money ... just to have it sit empty?" Irvin said. "I understand staffing is hard, just like it is anywhere in the Yukon, but you have to get creative. Figure out a way that this is going to suit us and work with the community." Irvin said community members have tossed around the idea of the complex being used as the town's "much-needed' extended care facility. "It's built in the perfect location close to downtown," he explained to CBC News. "It's a rancher style. It's got staff accommodations. It's accessible by ambulance. It's accessible by seniors. It would be perfect."
Winnipeg Free Press
21-06-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Fading into the background
Opinion The number of people in Canada experiencing homelessness continues to climb despite increased government funding. This prompted dozens of experts from across the country to gather at a landmark forum convened by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) to look for answers to help the 34,000 Canadians who — on any given night — don't have a decent place of their own. The main outcome of this gathering, the new report Housing First: What's Next?, released this week, confirms what we've witnessed firsthand: there are proven and effective approaches to end chronic homelessness. The report asserts that Housing First — a Canadian-made strategy that addresses housing insecurity — is a proven method to effectively keep people stably housed over the long term. As a country, how do we stand by as our neighbours cycle through emergency rooms, shelters, and jails? Why do we settle for high-cost band-aid interventions when a permanent fix is already within reach? It's like searching for reading glasses perched on our head. We can't expect people to recover from mental illness or addiction without the dignity of a door that locks. Securing safe, affordable housing is the crucial first step. It's a moral imperative, and fiscally responsible. The principle is straightforward: offer permanent housing in regular units scattered throughout communities — no strings attached — then deliver tailored supports for mental health, substance misuse, employment, and community integration. Rather than requiring people to 'earn' housing through demonstrated 'good behaviour,' Housing First posits – correctly – that a safe place to live is foundational for recovery. Just as we wouldn't expect someone with pneumonia to get better in the rain, we can't expect someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia to recover while navigating shelter waitlists. We were both heavily involved in At Home/Chez Soi, a federally funded $110 million project launched by the MHCC, which ran from 2008 to 2013. It found that chronic homelessness could be ended permanently for most people by combining housing with portable support. With decades of experience under our belts, our conviction has not wavered. Like the dozens of experts who participated in the workshop that led to the report, we continue to believe Housing First should be adopted and scaled up as best practice. When people have stable housing and access to community supports, we see measurable results: fewer hospitalizations, reduced emergency room visits, and decreased police interactions. These outcomes help offset the cost of implementing Housing First programs. While other countries have embraced this Canadian best practice — Finland and Norway have nearly eliminated chronic homelessness using a Housing First approach — we're still working to fully realize what we ourselves have pioneered. Despite its proven success, implementing Housing First is hard work. It requires carefully coordinating health, housing, justice, and social services that typically operate in silos. It forces us to confront the uncomfortable reality that our housing market has become the privilege of the few, rather than a basic human right. But these challenges can be overcome. During our national forum, experts agreed that an ever-shifting landscape requires an equally nimble response. Our report serves as a call to action and a road map: we need Housing First programs to follow the At Home/Chez Soi model, while upping the ante by collecting better data, creating culturally appropriate supports, establishing improved workforce training, boosting leadership, and increasing public engagement. Creating more deeply affordable housing is also urgent, encouraging private market and not-for-profit landlords to support individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness — people who are deserving of equitable access to housing opportunities. Taken together, we know this will transform lives. Ironically, when Housing First works well, you don't see it. People integrate into communities as tenants and neighbours, a refreshing contrast to the increasing visibility of suffering on our streets. We can all contribute to meaningful change. By understanding evidence-based approaches and working within our communities to prioritize and implement them, we create pathways to housing stability. Each of us has a role in fostering communities where everyone has a place to call home. Above all, we must never turn away from suffering, especially knowing the proven remedy is in plain sight. Tim Aubry is Emeritus Professor at the University of Ottawa and Co-Chair of the Canadian Housing First Network, and Jino Distasio, is a professor at the University of Winnipeg.
Irish Examiner
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Government carrying out an 'all-out assault on renters'; Opposition prepares Raise the Roof campaign
The Government's interventions in the housing crisis have become an "all-out assault on renters", Eoin Ó Broin has said. Sinn Féin's spokesperson on housing said an emergency response is needed to address the housing emergency created by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Opposition TDs are calling on the Government to drastically increase investment in public housing to meet social and affordable housing needs. A motion is to be moved on Tuesday evening during Sinn Féin's private members time and is supported by Social Democrats, Labour, People Before Profit, and the Green Party. It identifies five key areas of action that Mr Ó Broin said the housing minister could include and implement immediately as part of his housing plan: increase and accelerate delivery of social and affordable homes; protect private renters through freezing and cutting rents and no changes to rent pressure zones (RPZs) that would increase rents; stronger taxes on vacancy and dereliction and greater use of compulsory purchase orders; restore and increase funding for homeless prevention schemes such as tenant in situ and Housing First; an emergency response to rising homelessness including re-introducing ban on no-fault evictions. Labour's Conor Sheehan said the Government's attempt to incentivise institutional investors will not guarantee housing supply and any supply that is delivered will be completely unaffordable. The plans announced last week are confusing, incoherent and ever-changing, he said. In the days since the Government announced plans to reform rent controls, Mr Sheehan said he has witnessed "hundreds of landlords around the country" posting on websites saying they would immediately be hiking their rents. The housing minister also came under fire following the withdrawal of funding from local authorities for 500 social housing units in recent weeks with Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman citing it as an example of the Government's panic. "The Government has been in absolute panic mode about housing ever since it became clear that it would not meet its housing targets," said Mr O'Gorman. A Raise the Roof protest is set to be held outside Leinster House on Tuesday evening to coincide with the motion being debated in the Dáil. It is set to be the first in a number of demonstrations to be held around the country in the coming weeks with another planned for Cork City this Saturday. Read More Rental sector changes will encourage landlords to evict tenants, Focus Ireland warns
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fire at Yellowknife apartment that displaced public housing tenants caused by smoking
Improper disposal of smoking materials was found to be the cause of a fire that displaced tenants of public housing from a Yellowknife apartment building in March. Saxon Chung, a spokesperson for the City of Yellowknife, wrote in an email that an investigation by the city's fire department into the Sunridge Place apartments fire determined it was accidental. The city said after the incident in March that the fire was contained to a single unit on the first floor of the three-storey building and that no injuries were reported. Sunridge appears to still be closed, with the windows at the bottom of the building boarded up and a note on the door saying the building's owner, Northview, is working with contractors to ensure the building is "safe and restored in a timely manner." The note says that Northview changed the locks and that anyone needing to access the building could call either their public housing organization or Northview itself. A large vacuum truck was outside the building along with a large dumpster on Tuesday. Multiple units in the building were used for subsidized housing, and the organizations that ran them have been making alternate plans for their tenants. Housing First, a program run by the Yellowknife Women's Society, leased five Sunridge units, three of which had tenants. Hovannes Nazaryan, the team lead for Housing First, said the organization received three replacement units from Northview and has moved tenants to those. "The last time I was there [at Sunridge], we cleaned all of our units out, we moved all the furniture that was salvageable, and basically everything else went to the dump," he said. Shortly after the fire, before the replacement units were ready, Housing First moved its tenants into hotels for acccommodation. He said they're still waiting for two more units, one for emergencies and another to accommodate additional tenants. Nazaryan said he's not sure when, or even if, those tenants will move back into Sunridge when it reopens. Bob Bies is the CEO of the Yellowknife Housing Authority, which had five units at Sunridge. The Yellowknife Housing Authority runs the operation of public housing units that are leased by Housing N.W.T., the territory's housing agency. Bies said they have no plan to return to the building, and they've set tenants up in temporary accommodations with the plan to move them to Aspen Apartments when construction on it is complete. Julie Carter was a former tenant of Sunridge through the Yellowknife Housing Authority. She was planning to move out the day after the fire forced the evacuation. Carter said she was put up in a hotel the first night she was displaced and then was expected to move into her new apartment. But she didn't have access to any of her clothes, food, or other necessities. "I have a completely empty apartment, I have absolutely no funds. How am I supposed to feed myself, feed my dogs, change my clothes?" she said. Carter said she convinced the Yellowknife Housing Authority to put her up in a hotel and that it took weeks before she was allowed to enter her old unit to gather what was salvageable. When the Sunridge building will reopen is unclear. Each housing organization said they were unsure and redirected the question to Northview. Northview did not respond to multiple requests for an update by email, phone and in person.
CBC
06-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Fire at Yellowknife apartment that displaced public housing tenants caused by smoking
Social Sharing Improper disposal of smoking materials was found to be the cause of a fire that displaced tenants of public housing from a Yellowknife apartment building in March. Saxon Chung, a spokesperson for the City of Yellowknife, wrote in an email that an investigation by the city's fire department into the Sunridge Place apartments fire determined it was accidental. The city said after the incident in March that the fire was contained to a single unit on the first floor of the three-storey building and that no injuries were reported. Sunridge appears to still be closed, with the windows at the bottom of the building boarded up and a note on the door saying the building's owner, Northview, is working with contractors to ensure the building is "safe and restored in a timely manner." The note says that Northview changed the locks and that anyone needing to access the building could call either their public housing organization or Northview itself. A large vacuum truck was outside the building along with a large dumpster on Tuesday. Multiple units in the building were used for subsidized housing, and the organizations that ran them have been making alternate plans for their tenants. Housing First, a program run by the Yellowknife Women's Society, leased five Sunridge units, three of which had tenants. Hovannes Nazaryan, the team lead for Housing First, said the organization received three replacement units from Northview and has moved tenants to those. "The last time I was there [at Sunridge], we cleaned all of our units out, we moved all the furniture that was salvageable, and basically everything else went to the dump," he said. Shortly after the fire, before the replacement units were ready, Housing First moved its tenants into hotels for acccommodation. He said they're still waiting for two more units, one for emergencies and another to accommodate additional tenants. Nazaryan said he's not sure when, or even if, those tenants will move back into Sunridge when it reopens. Bob Bies is the CEO of the Yellowknife Housing Authority, which had five units at Sunridge. The Yellowknife Housing Authority runs the operation of public housing units that are leased by Housing N.W.T., the territory's housing agency. Bies said they have no plan to return to the building, and they've set tenants up in temporary accommodations with the plan to move them to Aspen Apartments when construction on it is complete. Julie Carter was a former tenant of Sunridge through the Yellowknife Housing Authority. She was planning to move out the day after the fire forced the evacuation. Carter said she was put up in a hotel the first night she was displaced and then was expected to move into her new apartment. But she didn't have access to any of her clothes, food, or other necessities. "I have a completely empty apartment, I have absolutely no funds. How am I supposed to feed myself, feed my dogs, change my clothes?" she said. Carter said she convinced the Yellowknife Housing Authority to put her up in a hotel and that it took weeks before she was allowed to enter her old unit to gather what was salvageable. When the Sunridge building will reopen is unclear. Each housing organization said they were unsure and redirected the question to Northview. Northview did not respond to multiple requests for an update by email, phone and in person.
