Not just our organizations, but our clients have experienced many successes and failures as we navigated through the system and processes. Even though the conversation about adequate and affordable housing is years old, the current pandemic has brought to light that we do not have concrete housing strategies for urban, rural and northern indigenous people in Canada.
There are several people on our wait-list hoping to move into a home one day. Many of them have been on the wait-list for over five years or maybe even longer. Some may have even lost hope that they will ever experience the comfort of living in a house or in a safe house.
This situation is the result of lack of adequate and sufficient housing. The housing stock we own is aged anywhere from 45 to 70 years. Most of those homes require complete refurbishment and many require demolition and rebuilding. We face many challenges while planning to renovate or rebuild these homes. These obstacles are wide-ranging, from financial barriers to transferring these residents to a safe place.