Supportive-housing plan shelved

Don Plant 2009-05-04 Kelowna Daily Courier:

Poor people hoping to move into a new apartment block in Rutland may have to find other accommodation. The B.C. government has suspended $5 million in funding for the 49-suite supportive-housing complex planned for 195 Rutland Road North. The building is one of three projects Housing Minister Rich Coleman announced to help homeless people get off the street. Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd has drafted a letter expressing her dismay over the setback. She‘s waiting to send it after the May 12 election so she knows who the housing minister is. “We‘re very disappointed with only funding allocated for two projects when all three were to be funded. There was no indication there would be hold-back on any one of the projects,” she said.

The city, which is providing the land for all three buildings, signed a memorandum of understanding with the province at a ceremony in March 2008. The province promised to spend $30 million on designing and building 150 suites in all, plus $1.6 million to operate them each year. A 40-unit building on Boyce Crescent and the Newgate Apartments on Rutland Road are designed to complement each other. The recently homeless will live in the Boyce building for up to six months before “graduating” to the longer-term apartments in Rutland. NOW Canada will operate a 39-suite complex for women and children on Tutt Street. No funding for the Rutland Road project means a large piece in the “continuum of care” for the homeless is missing, said Shelagh Turner, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association in Kelowna, which will manage the Boyce project.

“Given the economic climate, who knows when the money will be available? Supportive housing is such an integral part of addressing homelessness in our community,” she said. “There‘s a perceived loss if it doesn‘t go ahead.” Council issued a development permit to green-light the Rutland project on April 6. It‘s to supply similar permits for the other two buildings on Boyce Crescent and Tutt Road today. City staff found out the province was funding only the Boyce and Tutt Street projects on April 9. The Housing Ministry announced in a news release it was investing $22.7 million to construct the Boyce and Tutt buildings without mentioning the Rutland project. Ironically, the Rutland project was farthest along in its preparation for construction. “It is an off-the-shelf, ready-to-go project,” said Shepherd. “Apparently (the province) didn‘t have enough funds to allocate as they appeared to.”

The province may have overextended itself. The government made agreements with Kelowna and seven other cities to develop 30 supportive-housing sites. So far, it has committed $302 million for construction on 17 sites, including the two in Kelowna, said a Ministry spokesperson who asked not to be identified. “The province will be in a position to identify capital funding for the remaining sites and units in the coming months.” The John Howard Society, which will manage the Newgate Apts., believes the money will come through eventually, said executive director Shelley Cook. “I‘m still very optimistic we‘ll get this funding,” she said. “As soon as the province identifies the capital financing, we‘re ready to go.”