Red Deer’s city manager has questioned whether affordable housing is the best way to tackle homelessness.
During his Monday lunch-hour presentation to Red Deer Rotary Club members, Craig Curtis applauded the provincial government for aggressively providing funds for housing first initiatives — but said he was concerned with the longevity of such a model.
“What I’m really concerned about is the investment in housing, which will be only for a 20-year period,” he said to his fellow Rotarians. “After the 20 years, what do we have? No social housing, no affordable housing.”
Alberta’s 10-year plan to end homelessness, which celebrated its first anniversary in March, provides funding for affordable housing options first and foremost. Under this plan, the province provided the city with $1.1 million for 2009-2010.
Speaking about a number of factors influencing the growing city’s vision, Curtis wondered aloud on Monday if a lack of affordable housing options is indeed at the root of homelessness.
“I think one has to ask, are they really tackling the right issue?” he said. “In dealing with housing infrastructure, should we not possibly be looking at the people and the funding of the basic remuneration and let the housing take care of itself?
“We’re dealing with an income problem.”
Curtis’s opinion received support from the woman tasked with trying to abolish homelessness in the city.
“I would wholeheartedly agree with Craig,” said Stacey Carmichael, co-ordinator for community leadership initiative at the Red Deer and District Community Foundation.
“But that’s not to say better income will exclusively end homelessness.”
She pointed to the community plan EveryOne’s Home, which is a framework centred around affordable housing, income, support services, ability to create strong relations among other initiatives to end local homelessness by 2018.
“It’s a very complex issue,” Carmichael said of getting people off the streets. “There are a variety of factors that need to be considered. Income is one of those and so is housing.”
She said the best approach to end homelessness depends on individual circumstances.
Someone suffering from chronic homelessness would be better served by affordable housing, Carmichael said, whereas a working family struggling to make a living would benefit from an income boost.
“I think the province has done a good job,” Carmichael also argued. “Their focus right now is to end chronic homelessness and not so much on prevention. In all fairness, you need to start somewhere.”
Both Curtis and Carmichael also agreed that affordable housing units should be integrated in various communities across the city instead of grouped together in one area.
“They’re not then recognized as affordable housing units,” Curtis said. “They’re recognized just as part of the community, which is how I believe it should be.”
There are two projects under construction that will add a total of 72 affordable units to the city. Another project in the pre-development phase will add another 16 affordable units.
ptrotter@www.reddeeradvocate.com