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Eagle Valley Senior Citizens Housing Society expands mandate

Society to explore housing projects for low-income families and disabled people
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Rhona Martin, President of The Eagle Valley Senior Citizens Housing Society. (File Photo)

The Eagle Valley Senior Citizens Housing Society has chosen to expand its mandate in hopes of helping out even more people with the often difficult problem of finding affordable housing.

At their annual general meeting on July 28, the housing society voted to investigate the creation of new affordable housing options for low-to medium income families, people with disabilities and seniors.

BC Housing, a government organization charged with creating safe, affordable and quality housing, is currently inviting proposals from experienced housing providers for the creation of new mixed-rent housing projects. The local housing society plans to work with partners in applying for funding to create more stable, affordable housing.

Rhona Martin, president of the Eagle Valley Senior Citizens Housing Society, said the society’s membership chose to expand their mandate in order to address a need in the area.

“There’s most definitely a need for lower-income housing in Sicamous and the area,” she said.

“We have seniors that have been couch-surfing. We have seniors that have been living in motels and we have been seeing it become more challenging for families with lower incomes to find suitable housing, especially with young kids.”

Martin said society members who attended the AGM on July 28 unanimously supported extending their operations to groups other than seniors who have challenges finding housing.

She also said it was made clear to the membership that the funding they will soon seek will be for a facility or facilities off the property the society currently owns and they were in support.

Along with creating housing opportunities for groups the society has not helped in the past, Martin said the new facility could also improve housing for local seniors.

Martin said there is currently a 40-person wait list for the Haven, one of the low-income seniors’ housing facilities they manage. She added not all seniors want to live in close proximity to others like they do in some of the housing society’s facilities, where each resident gets their own bedroom but common areas are shared. A new development would open the possibility for a facility with different characteristics, catering to some of those seniors’ preferences.

Martin said lots of questions remain about the future affordable housing project and what it will bring to the community, but the society’s membership is excited about it.


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jim.elliot@saobserver.net

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Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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