Spina: Time for new look at social housing

March 5, 2012, By Marg Spina, City Councillor

Kudos to Tangie Genshorek and the hardworking members of the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan.

Through their hard work and partnerships HAP has created 150 spaces for the absolute homeless on the downtown South Shore. Has the first priority of absolute homeless on the housing priority list been met with enough new housing for the homeless and hard to house?

Kamloops now has the Henry Leland House, 28 apartments, men and women; Crossroads, 50 apartments, men and women; New Life Mission, 18 beds for men; House of Ruth, eight beds for women; Emerald House, eight beds for women; Men’s Christian Hostel, 38 beds; and the new Emerald Centre (Rendezvous Hotel), 46 beds, for men and women, housed separately.  What great new housing resources in Kamloops for single men and women struggling with addictions, mental illness, and multiple barriers.

Last fall the homeless count undertaken by ASK found less than 45 people who were homeless. This does not include the many single parent families struggling to afford housing, the disabled, or our seniors on fixed incomes, the hidden homeless. They also need affordable housing.

At the last public meeting in 2011 about free City land for affordable housing, I said that the number of absolute homeless units seemed sufficient, and that it was now time to prioritize the hidden homeless, families and children, disabled, and older men and women. 

As a past Kamloops Food Bank executive director, I saw the struggles of single parents with children, families, people with disabilities, and many older men and women trying their best but just not managing. If your rent or mortgage payment is more than 30 per cent of your income, it is a challenge to pay for heat, light, telephone, and food, never mind any extras. And with children, the costs are much higher with food, clothing, transportation and the pressures of field trips, and sports fees.

A homeless man brought $5,000 to the Kamloops Food Bank one day, which was exactly half of his scratch and win ticket. Why? Clarence said, with tears in his eyes, that it broke his heart to see babies and children in the food bank lineups. Clarence wanted to feed the children because he had been a hungry child, and wanted the food bank children to be spared that experience. 

Clarence got it! Homelessness is a cycle of fear and insecurity — of not knowing how long you can stay, what you will have to eat, and it consumes and becomes your way of life. He wanted to see change for the babies and children to prevent the cycle of homelessness repeating itself. 

The location of affordable housing is important. Housing needs to be close to schools, regular transit, stores and must meet KamPlan’s “sensitive integration” for new proposals. Could we consider different housing options and perhaps repurpose and rebuild schools, churches, or other buildings around the City?

Is it time for the City of Kamloops to prioritize those who are next in line for affordable housing, and focus on low-income families with children, people with disabilities and seniors?

mspina@kamloops.ca

Rent Bank for Kamloops takes first steps

We are super excited about getting started on the process of creating a Rent Bank in Kamloops!  Read this great article by Michelle Young:

Kamloops Daily News, February 23, 2012

Keeping people in their homes even when they’re short on rent or the utilities are about to be cut off is the goal behind a rent bank.

And it’s an idea that the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan co-ordinator Tangie Genshorek wants to bring to life here.

“We’re just looking into the concept right now. We had our first information session, we had someone from the Surrey rent bank here to explain it,” she said Thursday.

“We’re looking at how it might fit in here.”

The bank would give limited loans of up to, say, $1,000 or $1,600, to people who met the criteria. They would have two years to pay it all back and, if they did so, they would get the interest they paid returned to them.

Genshorek said the loans are aimed at helping low-income people facing eviction stay in their homes.

“I think it’s huge. It’s the difference between remaining in your housing and becoming homeless.”

B.C. has three rent banks so far, while there are more than 100 in Ontario, she said.

The loans aren’t given out readily, however. Borrowers are subject to background checks, employment, income, etc.

“There’s a whole intake process to verify all the information that they give is accurate,” she said.

Other rent bank operators have told her for every eight applicants, one gets a loan.

Genshorek said those other seven people can be helped to find other resources in the community, so it’s about more than just giving loans.

The next step is to establish the need for a rent bank in Kamloops. Genshorek said there’s a working group looking at that. Then proposals will be put out to funders.

In Surrey, it took 18 months to get a rent bank set up. The Kamloops group has only been working on it for a couple of months. Genshorek said it’ll be at least a year before it’s up and running.