New supportive housing for women and children

Everyone in Canada deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Affordable housing is key to Canada’s pandemic recovery for communities across the country, including in Calgary.

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, joined by George Chahal, Member of Parliament for Calgary Skyview, Jyoti Gondek, Mayor of Calgary, and Martina Jileckova, CEO of Horizon Housing, celebrated the opening of a new supportive housing building for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Horizon 12 is a hotel conversion set to provide 33 units of much-needed affordable modular housing for families in crisis living in Calgary.

The Government of Canada had announced a federal contribution of $8.3 million for the construction of this project through the Rapid Housing Initiative.

Horizon 12 is owned and operated by Horizon Housing, who have been providing affordable, integrated, and supportive homes to vulnerable Calgarians since 1976. Horizon Housing serves families and individuals including those with mental health and mobility challenges, low-income families, and those leaving addiction, homelessness, and domestic violence. Their mixed income, mixed use approach helps reduce stigma, promotes community integration, and enhances quality of life for its residents.

Horizon 12 will start accepting residents in the next few months, with full occupancy expected by summer 2022.

Quotes:

“Everyone deserves a safe and stable place to call home. Our government is committed to helping women and their children by investing in women’s shelters, sexual assault centres, and other gender-based violence support organizations from coast to coast to coast. This is an important way our National Housing Strategy is ensuring no one is left behind.”

“The peace of mind that comes with having a secure and stable home is invaluable. Today’s announcement helps to ensure that women and children fleeing family violence in Calgary communities have a safe place to land. These developments are a result of great partnerships, coming together to respond to the housing need in our province.”

“Together, we can find solutions to homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. This project is an excellent example of how local agencies can partner with The City and federal government to help women in need. With a place to call home, Calgarians can feel safe and be better able to find work, study for new careers and thrive in the community.”

“I’m more hopeful than ever that the call for affordable housing in Calgary is being heard. With this timely investment, agencies like Horizon Housing can seize opportunities to create additional housing for those who need it most.”

Quick facts:

• The RHI is delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), under the National Housing Strategy (NHS).
• Canada’s NHS is an ambitious, 10-year plan that will invest over $72 billion to give more Canadians a place to call home. Launched in 2017, the NHS will build and repair thousands of housing units and help households with affordability support.
• The RHI is a $1 billion program launched in October 2020 to help address urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians, especially in the context of COVID-19, through the rapid construction of affordable housing.
• Close to 33 per cent of this new funding will go toward women-focused housing projects. The units will be built within 12 months of when funding is provided to program applicants.
• The RHI takes a human rights-based approach to housing, serving people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and other vulnerable people under the NHS, including women and children fleeing domestic violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people experiencing mental health and addiction issues, veterans, LGBTQ2 individuals, racialized and Black Canadians, and recent immigrants or refugees.
• CMHC supports the government’s efforts to improve the well-being of Canadians facing housing and homelessness challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associated links:

• Rapid Housing Initiative
• National Housing Strategy
• New Rapid Housing Initiative to create up to 3,000 new homes for Canadians
• Rapid Housing Initiative will exceed targets by creating more than 4,700 new homes for Canadians
• Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. CMHC’s aim is that by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford, and that meets their needs. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

To find out more about the National Housing Strategy, visit www.placetocallhome.ca.

For information on this release:

Arevig Afarian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion
arevig.afarian@infc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca