New affordable housing will soon be available in Prince Albert for up to a dozen women exiting the justice system and eight people with acquired brain injuries or mental cognitive disabilities.
The Prince Albert Community Housing Society Inc. (PACHSI), the federal and provincial governments and the City of Prince Albert officially broke ground Wednesday to construct an affordable rental housing project at 861 River Street West.
The 14-unit project will be approximately 13,800 square feet.
“Projects like this support people who often face barriers to finding safe and affordable housing that meets their needs,” Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation First Nation housing specialist Lana Kopp said. “This project will soon fill an urgent need in this community.”
The project is expected to be completed in a year.
“It is geared towards persons of Aboriginal ancestry but is open to everybody,” said P.A. Community Housing Society general manager Linda Boyer. “We’re very certain that this will be a sustainable project.”
The Provincial Métis Housing Corporation is helping fund the construction with $500,000 from the NHS Indigenous Homelessness funding stream.
The federal and provincial governments are investing as much as $980,000.
The City of Prince Albert contributed $30,000 and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation approved another $105,000.
“The support is huge,” Boyer adds. “It’s wonderful. If you don’t have the funding in place, projects like this can’t go forward. We are very pleased with the support and funding received from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, the Provincial Métis Housing Corporation, the Government of Canada and the municipal government on this project that will eventually house, persons living with an acquired brain injury or mental cognitive disability on the first floor and women exiting the correctional centres on the second floor. The end goal is to stabilize their housing, refer them to programs and reunite them with their children or families. Once completed, these units will not only reduce the number of homeless in the city but also give hard-to-house tenants affordable and independent living units, and most importantly, a place they can call home and be proud of.”
(PHOTO: The official ground-breaking of the housing project at 861 River Street West. Photo by Brendan Mayer.)