An innovative and cost-effective approach for building affordable housing in rural Alberta

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By Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN)

In 2015, the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN) issued a call for expressions of interest, asking Alberta’s rural communities if they needed affordable housing. The response was overwhelming, with over 35 communities responding with an emphatic YES! The need was there; now what were we going to do about it?

Within six months, ARDN began implementing its Sustainable Housing Initiative (SHI), to create an innovative and cost-effective approach for building affordable housing in rural Alberta. We had an enthusiastic and energetic volunteer in place, Joshua Benard, but no money and few resources. Interestingly, this seemed to parallel the experience of rural Alberta trying to build affordable housing! In the not-for-profit world, when embarking on a new initiative, the first dollar is always the hardest to get. Finding a funder who is willing to be first in on a new idea is a huge challenge – there are always easier investments, and few funders want to take a risk on an unproven idea. But thankfully, AREF made that leap of faith, approved a grant, and the SHI was officially launched.

The purpose of the SHI is to implement and demonstrate a multi-stakeholder approach to building innovative and cost-effective affordable housing in rural communities. It promotes the construction of high quality housing that is net-zero ready, with design elements intended to improve mental and physical health and wellness. The SHI also promotes the sharing of knowledge and best practices amongst rural communities.

Due to a lack of resources and capacity, Alberta’s rural communities are missing an integral part of the housing continuum. Rural Alberta has a critical shortage of affordable housing options, but this issue has not received the same attention as it has in urban centres. Without affordable housing, many small communities cannot prevent homelessness or help people through the housing continuum. This negatively impacts communities and individuals, who may be relocated to larger centres, removing them from their familiar environment and any support system they might have, and negatively impacting the community and its ability to grow.

In order to increase the inventory of affordable housing in Alberta’s rural communities, we must overcome their lack of capacity to navigate the lengthy and complex processes (including conducting research and securing funding) that are necessary to build a multi-unit housing project. Through the SHI, ARDN has been collaborating with a number of rural communities and community based organizations to develop strategic partnerships, leverage existing resources, and allow rural communities to address this growing problem.

SHI is already helping rural communities build capacity, by facilitating access to information and resources, and cutting costs, by sourcing lower priced services. ARDN is working with stakeholders and industry partners to develop a framework that is a step-by-step path to build, manage, and operate affordable housing projects, including templates for:

  1. An analysis of need and demand for affordable housing in the community.
  2. An analysis of financial viability.
  3. A business plan for funder investment.
  4. A generic design for a building that would be used for permitting.
  5. A plan for sustainable, long term management.
  6. Finding potential sources of funding.

ARDN is currently partnering with stakeholders in seven rural communities to implement this framework in a cost effective and timely manner, source funding, monitor progress, assist with challenges, collect data and report on outcomes. Our first project, with the Banff YWCA, is already at the permitting and design stage.

Coming Soon: Traversing Terrain and Experience: Atlas of the Battle River and Sounding Creek Watersheds

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By Battle River Watershed Alliance

Figure 1 Sample Atlas page

The purpose of Traversing Terrain and Experience: Atlas of the Battle River and Sounding Creek Watersheds is to bring the maps and stories of this region to life for people of all ages. The atlas will contain various maps of our watershed along with accompanying statistics and information on topics such as land cover, land use, natural regions, water use, water quality, geology, biodiversity, population density, energy resources, and more!

It will also incorporate the stories of local people and places within the watershed. In this way, the atlas will serve as a tool to connect people to place by exploring the connections between landscape and experience throughout the watershed.

Copies of the Atlas will be available December 2017 and distribution is planned for school and communities across the Battle River and Sounding Creek watersheds.

To preorder your copy call the Battle River Watershed Alliance office at 1-780-672-0276 or email battle.river@gmail.com.

25th Anniversary celebrations at Friends of Fish Creek Park

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By Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society

Figure 1: 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Signature Artwork  – Autumn Colour by Jim Pescottt

So far, 2017 is proving to be a pivotal year. As well as being the 25th anniversary of the Friends, it is also becoming the year where all our learning and relationships of the previous 5 years are coming together.

We launched two special fundraising initiatives to mark our 25th anniversary, the dedication brick program and the signature image program. Our brick program gives donors the opportunity to purchase a brick with their special message or dedication on it. The new pathway to the door of our office in the park will feature these bricks.

Our signature image program features a painting created specially for us by Canadian artist Jim Pescott. This image features the very essence of the park and we have had 25 limited edition art prints made, each one signed and numbered by Jim, which are available for purchase.

AREF funding has supported our work towards building the value we can add to the lives of our community. One area that has seen lots of growth is our wellness program suite. A lot has changed in our city in the past few years and the results of a slow down in the economy are only just starting to become clear. The previous season taught us a lot about the value the community saw in our wellness programs and the ways in which the park can serve as a tool to support both good physical and mental health. During this time, practitioners in wellness have reached out to us to collaborate in further leveraging the natural spaces in the park to support wellbeing.

Our hands on stewardship programs grow in both scope and complexity and we are now delivering riparian restoration activities in the park. In addition to the restoration activities, our invasive species management program continues to grow thanks to our amazing volunteers that have gathered a great deal of knowledge of this subject over the years.

Figure 2: Volunteers lend a hand in the care of Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Visit Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society’s website to keep up to date on our programs and upcoming events.

Fort McMurray Community Needs Assessment

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By FuseSocial

Funded by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, FuseSocial has completed a Community Needs Assessment to identify the most urgent community challenges post-wildfire. As a support agency to the social profit sector Fuse Social’s role is to aid other agencies to not only recover from the effects of the 2016 wildfire but improve the quality of life in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The social profit sector provides communities with essential services such as healthcare, education, cultural services and recreational programs.

The purpose of this project was to initiate public engagement during the recovery process, while understanding the challenges facing the community, and identifying priority areas for the recovery effort.

The Community Needs Assessment Survey was based upon the objectives from Wood Buffalo Strategic Road Map.   Three hundred and two people responded to the survey producing a 5.63% margin of error at a 95% confidence level. The results identified Immediate, short-term and long-term needs for the community which were then mapped on the strategic road map and colour coded for urgency.   Below is a summary of the top ranked needs identified by the study.

      

Understanding the needs of residents will support community recovery and aid the social profit sector in prioritizing services. Thank-you to the Alberta Real Estate Foundation for funding this Community Needs Assessment Study and supporting the community of Wood Buffalo.