As illustrated by developments last week, there are two fundamental problems facing both city residents and the province of Alberta. With a scarcity of non-profit apartments for seniors within St. Albert and, outside of group homes, the total lack of any kind of housing for adults who suffer from disabilities, it is incumbent on the province to help address both problems by extending the Housing Capital Initiative past the 2011/2012 year.
Last week’s release by the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) stated the average vacancy rate in Alberta for a standard retirement space was 12.8 per cent. Further investigation by the Gazette, however, revealed a different picture. St. Albert’s vacancy rate is significantly lower, depending on whether seniors are looking for a non-profit or for-profit facility. There are no vacancies at the city’s non-profit facilities while there is only a seven per cent vacancy rate at the for-profit buildings. Waiting lists are growing increasingly long as residents hope to find a room in the city they know, potentially close to family. And often seniors cannot afford the rents at for-profit facilities. There is further concern about the role of business in seniors and assisted living after 30 assisted-living residents of a for-profit facility in Calgary were evicted because the company that owned the building chose not to renew its lease with Carewest, which publicly runs and operates 10 facilities. The for-profit company that runs the home — Chartwell Seniors Housing — said renewing the lease was not in the company’s best interests.
In other words, they wanted to follow their business model, which is centred on making money in the seniors’ housing niche.
Set to expire at the end of this fiscal year, the Housing Capital Initiative has, according to the province, come close to reaching its goal of creating 11,000 new living spaces. Yet the program hasn’t alleviated the substantial part of the housing burden here and in other communities. Wait lists at St. Albert’s non-profit residences are still too long. The last submission to the grant program, which has funded $280 million in projects with another $100 million expected for the coming year, was denied. It called for a 42-unit expansion of North Ridge Lodge to accommodate adults with disabilities, a group of people in St. Albert that have even fewer housing options than seniors. The city is even tracking 130 disabled adults from St. Albert who live in Edmonton because there are no housing options available to them. The Sturgeon Foundation, which runs St. Albert’s non-profit residences, has now rejected that concept for a 42-room expansion for senior citizens in keeping with its mandate. If approved, the rooms will be welcome for seniors but will amount to a drop in the bucket in terms of alleviating the seniors’ housing crunch.
Our city specifically needs more non-profit seniors’ living units and it also needs to start providing affordable housing for adults with disabilities. The Housing Capital Initiative has done good work and it is incumbent on the province to extend the program. There are no doubt other communities facing similar problems with waiting lists and housing availability that would benefit from an extension. While for-profit agencies can fill some of the demand, the pitfall of high rents and examples like the recent experience in Calgary demonstrate that the private sector cannot fill the gap when it comes to lower income seniors. The province has more of a role to play in this and its job is far from over.
