The Souris Valley Housing Incorporated team has a plan and part of that plan is to start making some noise about the dire need of affordable housing in the Energy City.
The pastoral group that is heading up the drive for some lower cost accommodations in Estevan said they don't want to go through another winter telling low income wage earners that they'll have to continue sleeping in their cars or trucks overnight because there is nothing available for them.
William Sinclair and Rev. Mike Sinclair were joined at the podium at Living Hope Church Monday night by Pastors Kathie Schmitke and Chris Smith in an appeal to the community to move a low-cost housing project forward.
About 30 people were in attendance to hear William Sinclair open the session by stating he hoped Estevan would not be facing another housing crisis like the last one, come this fall.
The group said they had numerous people coming to their churches saying they had jobs, but were unable to find housing.
"When our hotels and motels are being used for semi-permanent housing, and we're saying to people 'sorry you and your kids have to sleep in your cars', we have a problem," said Mike Sinclair.
"We don't have a hostel or emergency shelter in Estevan, so that's one problem that needs solving. The second is the need to move the affordable housing problem away from Band-Aid solutions," he added.
When raw land of limited value suddenly gets overvalued, the opportunity to place a low-cost housing unit on it becomes impossible, the group said.
With the donation of 10 acres of land just north of the city limits now available to them, Souris Valley Housing Inc. has a fighting chance. A donation of a unit that could serve as accommodations plus $10,000 from Spectra Credit Union, is another step forward, they said.
"But we have limitations," said Mike Sinclair. "We don't have legal, construction or financial skills."
William Sinclair added that previous discussions with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. have yielded some promising responses, but nothing concrete yet and Schmitke pointed out the problems of the local housing market which she described as being "very uneven." She said there are a lot of two-bedroom apartments and condos in Estevan, but they're all taken. She said the senior housing issue in Estevan was also bad two years ago, but has settled down a bit now, but still requiring attention.
"With 40 to 53 per cent rent increases, we're seeing our campgrounds filling up in the summer, but what happens after that? People with jobs can't bring their families here," said Schmitke.
Mike Sinclair added that if Estevan were truly interested in seeing the city grow, the citizens would see to it that entire families should be accommodated, not just one breadwinner.
Mobile home parks could certainly become more inviting for sure, one person in the audience suggested.
Secondary suites and grandmother apartment programs were suggested as another route that could be taken.
Two representatives from Saskatchewan Housing were in attendance at the meeting, but Ian MacLennan and Lana Phillips said they were there to record and observe only. They provided some background information upon request.
Mike Sinclair said that communities like Estevan are helping to stabilize the overall Canadian economy by providing jobs in an era when many sectors in Canada are suffering from unemployment.
"The jobs are here and like the last boom, the jobs were everywhere. But people had a tendency to come here, work awhile and then go. Part of that was due to the nature of the job, but a lot of it was housing related. You can't settle into a community with your family if there is no housing for them," he said.
William Sinclair said affordable housing is defined as housing that comes in at below market value. He said that didn't mean it required subsidization or was non-profitable, it was just that it came onto the market at a more affordable price for those families earning less than $52,000 per year.
"There are quite a few people who come into our city who are not looking to buy because they're here on a contract. They need a place to stay," he said, adding that $10,000 is available from CMHC to kick start a housing survey that will focus on low-cost housing.
Smith said the SVHI has a plan that calls for the acquisition of property for four units of affordable housing within the next three months. They could be separate or together, because "we need to start doing something now."
Within six months, SVHI will be moving on to the financing end of the proposition. He said they expect to have that in place by October and that will be followed by the actual start of construction within the year.
"But we need people to get on board. The assistance from CMHC, if we get it, will come with conditions and we need people who know about property development," said Smith, noting that the plans should please real estate agencies since it puts more people into the housing mix. They said in other communities where similar problems existed, the realtors embraced the projects that brought more units into the market.
"Maybe four units is seen as a drop in the bucket, but if we can build them and sell them at no loss and take that income and reinvest in more, then maybe we can avoid the next housing crisis in Estevan. We need something tangible here," said Smith.
"Estevan shouldn't just be a stop on the way to somewhere else."
The group said they weren't just targeting the so-called working poor either. They noted there were several people earning very good wages, who were being shut out of the local high priced housing market.
The idea of forming a housing co-operative was discussed and the pastoral team said it was also time to start "motivating some of the politicians at the federal, provincial and local levels. They need to be on board," said Mike Sinclair.
It was noted that it has been about 30 years since Sask. Housing had entered into a project in Estevan and it was disappointing to see there were no funds provided in this year's provincial budget for social housing.
"So we say write your housing minister, write your MLA, your councillor, tell them that their community needs them to do something to provide real growth in this city," said Mike Sinclair.
One member of the audience, a newcomer to Estevan a year ago, noted that "We got good jobs, but our spirit is squashed because of the appalling housing situation."
With a final appeal for the community to get involved, especially those with required skills sets to move a project forward, the meeting was adjourned.
