Post by ocelot on Jul 7, 2006 23:25:32 GMT -5
Too many homeless for agency
Inn from the Cold warns families to line up housing
Published: Friday, July 07, 2006
Unprecedented demand for a safe place for homeless families to sleep is overwhelming Inn from the Cold, leading the agency to advise those moving here for work to make sure they having housing lined up first.
"I've never seen it like this," said Inn from the Cold executive director Diana Segboer. "It's a new trend that's got us very concerned. And it's going to get worse, a lot worse.
"It's the downside of the boom."
The agency, which co-ordinates with faith groups to find temporary shelter for parents and children, is working with 17 families right now.
While typically it would average seven to 10 families a night, this week alone five new families have asked for help.
On Wednesday, the agency received 10 calls from people preparing for a move to Calgary to take advantage of the job market but needing somewhere to stay. And in some cases, people are arriving at their door straight from the bus depot.
Analysts say Calgary is starting to reach a critical point, where the labour market will absorb as many bodies as arrive, but housing and infrastructure are becoming stretched to the limit.
The average house price has soared past $400,000. City transit is at capacity.
Affordable housing is especially hard to come by, with 2,300 people now on the city's waiting list for a spot and rent rising with demand.
Barbara Hall's family is waiting for space at Calgary Housing, expecting to be on the list for up to four months. In the meantime, Hall and her two young children have been getting a bed through Inn From the Cold every night for the past two weeks.
"It's hard on my kids," Hall said of three-year-old Jillian and 20-month-old Steeves. "My daughter thinks it's home. Once we get our own space, it'll be OK."
The waiting room at Inn From the Cold fills up by 5 p.m., as parents sit with their backpacks and suitcases, waiting to be taken to that night's shelter. The children crowd around the cartoons playing on television.
Segboer classifies most of her clients as working poor -- those who have jobs but can't keep up with the increasing cost of living in the city.
Calgary's need for workers, in jobs ranging from construction to the medical field, isn't going to ease any time soon.
According to a Calgary Economic Development presentation given to the city's intergovernmental affairs committee Thursday, up to 120,000 new jobs are likely to be created here in the next five years.
At the same time, Calgary's population is only expected to grow by about 1.2 per cent, with the number of people moving here likely decreasing over the next decade, the report said.
Executive director Bruce Graham said the city needs to start looking at some labour pockets that haven't been fully explored, including women, youth and the aboriginal community.
"What we've learned through this report is that part of the solution is not just looking elsewhere, it's also looking at your own backyard," Graham said, adding there's a benefit to using local employees who already live here.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier said the city also has to work with other two levels of government to address labour concerns -- bringing in people from other countries, streamlining immigration and the issuing of Canadian credentials -- as well as to fund more affordable housing.
"People won't come to Calgary to work here if they don't have a place to live," Bronconnier said. "Affordable housing is critical to that."
Inn from the Cold warns families to line up housing
Published: Friday, July 07, 2006
Unprecedented demand for a safe place for homeless families to sleep is overwhelming Inn from the Cold, leading the agency to advise those moving here for work to make sure they having housing lined up first.
"I've never seen it like this," said Inn from the Cold executive director Diana Segboer. "It's a new trend that's got us very concerned. And it's going to get worse, a lot worse.
"It's the downside of the boom."
The agency, which co-ordinates with faith groups to find temporary shelter for parents and children, is working with 17 families right now.
While typically it would average seven to 10 families a night, this week alone five new families have asked for help.
On Wednesday, the agency received 10 calls from people preparing for a move to Calgary to take advantage of the job market but needing somewhere to stay. And in some cases, people are arriving at their door straight from the bus depot.
Analysts say Calgary is starting to reach a critical point, where the labour market will absorb as many bodies as arrive, but housing and infrastructure are becoming stretched to the limit.
The average house price has soared past $400,000. City transit is at capacity.
Affordable housing is especially hard to come by, with 2,300 people now on the city's waiting list for a spot and rent rising with demand.
Barbara Hall's family is waiting for space at Calgary Housing, expecting to be on the list for up to four months. In the meantime, Hall and her two young children have been getting a bed through Inn From the Cold every night for the past two weeks.
"It's hard on my kids," Hall said of three-year-old Jillian and 20-month-old Steeves. "My daughter thinks it's home. Once we get our own space, it'll be OK."
The waiting room at Inn From the Cold fills up by 5 p.m., as parents sit with their backpacks and suitcases, waiting to be taken to that night's shelter. The children crowd around the cartoons playing on television.
Segboer classifies most of her clients as working poor -- those who have jobs but can't keep up with the increasing cost of living in the city.
Calgary's need for workers, in jobs ranging from construction to the medical field, isn't going to ease any time soon.
According to a Calgary Economic Development presentation given to the city's intergovernmental affairs committee Thursday, up to 120,000 new jobs are likely to be created here in the next five years.
At the same time, Calgary's population is only expected to grow by about 1.2 per cent, with the number of people moving here likely decreasing over the next decade, the report said.
Executive director Bruce Graham said the city needs to start looking at some labour pockets that haven't been fully explored, including women, youth and the aboriginal community.
"What we've learned through this report is that part of the solution is not just looking elsewhere, it's also looking at your own backyard," Graham said, adding there's a benefit to using local employees who already live here.
Mayor Dave Bronconnier said the city also has to work with other two levels of government to address labour concerns -- bringing in people from other countries, streamlining immigration and the issuing of Canadian credentials -- as well as to fund more affordable housing.
"People won't come to Calgary to work here if they don't have a place to live," Bronconnier said. "Affordable housing is critical to that."