Whitecourt’s Wellspring Housing Continuum Project needs your support

 

Situated where it is, Whitecourt provides services for other communities simply based on its proximity. When it comes to emergency shelters such as the Wellspring Family Resource & Crisis Centre, the nearest communities with similar centres are Grande Cache, Hinton, and Slave Lake. For second-stage shelters, the nearest ones available to the region are in Edmonton or Grande Prairie, leaving a large area to be covered by emergency shelters which have less resources.

For perspective, from 2012 to 2016, 284 women and 277 children were admitted into Wellspring’s emergency shelter. During the same timeframe, 326 women and 315 children were turned away. There are different factors for being turned away but commonly the reason is lack of space. Another interesting stat is the sky-high number of men that are in need within our region. Taking the same timeframe as mentioned above, 1,437 men contacted the shelter about needing help and were turned away, while 118 were helped at some capacity.

Wellspring is looking to expand its resources to a second-stage shelter, build a bigger building to house several new projects, and increase the number of people they can help. “This project encompasses a new emergency shelter, a second stage shelter, affordable units, market units, and commercial space,” explained executive director Becky Wells. There would be 12 affordable units and 12 market units in the project. The total size of the proposed project is 46,812 square feet and the projected cost is 11.46 million.

What is a second-stage shelter? It is a long-term apartment-style residence that is part of the spectrum of domestic violence and housing services. Though men make up over three quarters of the homeless population, Wellspring noted that rates for women are increasing and that domestic violence is one the main causes. In fact, 63 per cent of homeless women have been victims of domestic violence as adults.

The affordable housing units will be available to anyone unable to afford an apartment. “It’s not just available to women and children,” said Becky, adding that being able to provide affordable housing is a big deal especially when you consider census data from 2015 to 2016. In one year, the population of Whitecourt increased by less than 0.5 per cent, but the number of employment insurance recipients increased by over 70 per cent. Further to that, on average, 33.6 per cent of residents who are renting are paying more than 30 per cent of their income on rent. Those numbers are troubling and have built up a sense of urgency on the project.

The commercial space in the building would be for their second-hand store, Twice Is Nice, which is currently located in Midtown Mall. “The idea is that this building is self-sustaining. Within 20 years this building will be doing its own thing financially speaking. We are trying to do it is so that we aren’t reliant on government funding. We are also planning on opening up a daycare and offering a space where agencies can gather.” Given that most homeowners start with a 25-year mortgage, the fact that the goal for the project is to be paid for within 20 years is remarkable.

To get things moving forward, Wellspring has partnered with the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN). Started in 2009, the ARDN helps support rural development in Alberta and most recently administered the Homelessness Partnering Strategy’s Rural and Remote Homelessness funding stream for Alberta which has helped fund seven rural homelessness projects including one in Drayton Valley.

On Tuesday, April 10, Becky and members from the ARDN, put on an information session at the Royal Canadian Legion to introduce the project to the community. During the afternoon they hosted agencies and businesses while in the evening they invited the public to come. Following a presentation, guests were encouraged to check out the posters on the walls and fill in their own questions and concerns.

One of the most intriguing parts of the project is that they will be using shipping containers, also called sea-cans, to build the building. With insulation on both sides of the steel walls, the completed project will look and feel no different than a regular home. The biggest bonus of using the containers is that it cuts costs by roughly 15 per cent.

“Right now, we are actively looking for land and to make sure that if we aren’t funded fully, that we have the capacity to be able to expand,” said Becky. She wants to make sure they have a big enough area that will allow for expansion years down the road should they have to build in stages. Becky also said they want to be downtown. “The centralized location would make it easier for people to walk and access services whether it’s going grocery shopping or going to Alberta Works. It’s all downtown.”

Becky implores residents to put their support behind the project and said that it is simple enough to do. “We need to talk to government, our MPs and our MLAs, anybody that you can think of. Just keep talking about the need for this project and keep generating that energy and getting the message back to the government that we believe in this project and we want to see it come to Whitecourt. It’s a regional approach and it will help so many people, not just in Whitecourt, and it’s really needed.”

To learn more about Wellspring’s Housing Continuum Project, and to find out how you can help, contact Becky Wells at 780-778-6209. “I’m always in to chat and to give tours of what our shelter looks like because I think as a community we should be very proud of it.”