Alberta’s seniors are under assault from all directions of late.
From long-term care to transportation to drug costs, they have been forced to fight off a province determined to chip away at their fixed incomes.
This week’s battleground is low-income housing.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s recent Seniors Housing Report on Alberta suggests the average vacancy rate among retirement homes in this province is 12.2 per cent, and the average rent is $2,477.
For upwards of $30,000 a year for living expenses, it’s not hard to understand a vacancy rate over 12 per cent. Consider that more than half of Canadians over 75 live on less than that, according to a 2001 study.
While those rents may be true for the private sector, the executive director of the Piper Creek Foundation says that is not the case for low-income housing, where the rent ranges from $955 to $1,095.
Geoff Olson says the average vacancy rate for low-income housing as of May 31 is 0.7 per cent. That low vacancy rate translates into a lengthy waiting list of more than 100 people. Five years ago, that waiting list was only 35 to 40 names long. Two other programs the foundation manages also report lengthy waiting lists.
The provincial government would like us to believe it has the seniors’ best interests at heart. It has allocated $188 million in the 2010 budget for capital projects geared toward affordable housing and the homeless.
Private and non-profit organizations alike are invited to partner with the government and apply for matching funds from the grant program. However, it’s much easier for a private partner to raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to build a housing project than a non-profit one, such as the Piper Creek Foundation, which must rely on donations or fundraising campaigns.
The Piper Creek Foundation says its already feeling the pressure to help more seniors find affordable housing. That pressure will continue to build for years to come.
Red Deer’s senior population is expected to grow to 14.5 per cent of the city’s population by 2026, up from 10 per cent today.
The foundation has made it clear they cannot meet that demand without major assistance from the province.
But is the province listening?
The province is expected to make another announcement about its grant program today. But barring a sudden policy reversal, the announcement is unlikely to relieve any pressure on the foundation or the low-income seniors it serves.
That is because the provincial government still believes public-private partnerships are the answer to the growing need for seniors housing.
That belief runs counter to studies in Australia and New Zealand that suggest there is little evidence public-private partnerships are superior to the public funding model. It also runs counters to CMHC’s report, which suggests the average rent at for-profit retirement homes is still well beyond the reach of most seniors.
It’s time for this province to take the pressure off non-profit groups such as the Piper Creek Foundation and provide low-income seniors with affordable, accessible housing they deserve.
No vacancy in Alberta’s retirement homes is not an option, especially when demand is set to grow.
Cameron Kennedy is an Advocate editor.