Many messages in housing-needs report

By Dale Bass - Kamloops This Week
Published: May 09, 2013 12:00 PM
Updated: May 09, 2013 12:30 PM
 
A new report on housing needs in Kamloops comes with many messages.
However, if there's one message its co-ordinator wants people to pay attention to, it's the need for rental housing.

Tanie Genshorek, co-ordinator of the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan (HAP), wants people to realize the marginalized don't need more shelters — they need a hand up to get started in reclaiming their lives.

Finding real housing is one major step, she said, and adding 1,632 private-market rental units would go a long way in doing this.

The report also notes the city needs another 99 units of temporary supported housing — 120 of permanent subsidized housing and 371 or entry-level ownership (houses that can be purchased for $240,000 or less).

The anticipated additional need in each category in 2025, with the current supply in brackets, includes: 120 (187) temporary supported, 144 (448) permanent subsidized and 1,935 ( 7,421) private-market rental.

"We need to move away from thinking of housing for a particular people," Genshorek said, "and think about the continuum we can provide to help people."
The continuum acknowledges various types of homelessness from the constant to the episodic to the at-risk.

Entry-level home ownership was addressed briefly in the study to acknowledge the reality having access to entry-level housing for the working poor who can save a down payment might be all those people need to break the cycle they are at risk of sinking into for longer periods of time.

The report links the various forms of housing to revenue, noting temporary supported and permanent subsidized would be from free to $375 a month, private-market rental would range from $400 to $600 and entry-level ownership would require an after-taxes income of $29,000 as a benchmark and a monthly total mortgage payment of $725.

The report comes with several recommendations Genshorek said she has been assured will go to city council and senior administrators at a workshop. The next one is scheduled for June.
Genshorek said her personal goal is to see the city's official and social plans developed to further recognize the need for policies that help the marginalized and homeless.

"We need to think of the big picture," she said. "We are moving away from shelters. People need housing."

A study on supportive and life skills was also released with the housing report. Genshorek said the information contained in it will be interesting to the public but have greater relevance for the agencies providing the services.