Calvin Yzerman sees Red Deer’s lack of affordable and supportive housing as a significant contributor to the array of social issues the city now faces.
“I am concerned about the health and well-being of the community,” said Yzerman. Since Red Deer has been his home since 1961, he is running for a seat on council to help find some solutions.
Yzerman believes supportive and affordable housing “are desperately needed.”
As a city councillor, he would advocate for the creation of more rental accommodations with daily living supports and connections to mental health counselling, health care, and job training. This would help individuals with addictions maintain stability and have a safe place to live as they work towards recovery.
Yzerman feels the lack of affordable and accessible apartments is contributing to the city’s growing homelessness crisis. Having more housing options would create more security for individuals and families, preventing them from falling into homelessness due to financial hardship, he explained.
Council should promote more community engagement around this issue — especially from non-profit and private-sector housing providers, said Yzerman. He feels it’s also essential for the problem be tackled collaboratively, by all levels of government.
“This includes securing funding, implementing policies to support affordable housing initiatives, and coordinating services to address addiction and homelessness.”
Yzerman advocates for a holistic approach that recognizes that addiction and homelessness are interconnected. “This includes addressing underlying factors such as mental health, trauma, poverty, and lack of access to healthcare and social services.”
His other election platforms are crime prevention, maintaining city roads and other infrastructure, supporting public transit, and lobbying the province to restore ambulance dispatch to Red Deer EMS.
Yzerman believes his work in construction and with various community groups will help inform his council decisions. “Drawing from my relationships and experience over the last six decades and by tapping into advice from former and current councillors, I feel that I can make well-informed decisions.”
The most important role of a city councillor is to provide good service to the community and to adhere to the code of conduct for members of Council, said Yzerman. He does not believe in creating political parties in municipal politics.