Revitalizing Calgary buildings for vulnerable families

Monday was National Housing Day — a day that reminds us that adequate housing may be a human right but is not the reality for many Calgarians.

“When people are safely and securely housed then they can thrive,” said Bernadette Majdell, the CEO of HomeSpace.

A joint project by HomeSpace and Inn from the Cold is aiming to transform a vacant downtown office building into affordable housing for vulnerable families, with move-in dates starting in Sept. 2022.

“In this building, in this location, we were able to achieve a lot of other goals primarily taking 100,000 square feet out of the downtown vacancy, bringing new life, and kids, and energy back into the Core because we really do believe that the downtown core is where you should be able to work, live and play,” explained Majdell.

“We talk about prevention versus mitigating homelessness, so instead of minimizing the harm or mitigating the symptoms of homelessness, investing in affordable housing is a way to prevent a crisis from even happening,” said Lee Stevens, a policy and research specialist with Vibrant Communities Calgary.

“So, affordable housing gets people out of crisis mode and once they’re out of it they’re in a position to benefit from other programs service agencies have to offer.”

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For the families that move into Project Thrive, some of those services will be available in their own homes.

The building’s floor plan allows for daycare space, employment opportunities and even permanent housing on the top floors.

The team hopes the project will be a catalyst for other groups to do the same as the housing situation in Calgary doesn’t improve.

Stevens says in 2017 she was told Calgary needed 15,000 units to meet the national average.

“It’s still 15,000 because every year we move further and further away from that target.”