The Committee for St. Albert Chapter Seniors United Now is right in saying affordable housing is not just a seniors’ problem – it is a national problem. That is very true, but St. Albert definitely has a problem.
When looking for a place for my elderly mother to move into in St. Albert, I was shocked at how little there really was for a senior who is just over the threshold in terms of finances. If a senior has below the allowed amount of income, they qualify to move into a shoebox of a room. If they are over the amount of allowed income, they will pay an exorbitant amount to live in a one bedroom. That amount will afford them one meal a day unless they want to pay extra for breakfast and lunch.
When Chartwell built the new seniors apartment building on Herbert and Arlington, I thought that it would be ideal for mom. But the cost to live there was $100 a month more than another seniors’ apartment building in Edmonton that is also owned by Chartwell.
Each year for the past three years, on Oct. 1 she has received a letter indicating her rent will go up Jan. 1, by three per cent. This amounts to $100 plus every year. Why? Because they can legally increase it. None of her income goes up anywhere near this amount.
It is definitely high time that St. Albert stepped up to the plate and started helping our seniors out, instead of sending them out of St. Albert to live elsewhere. They have earned the right to live in St. Albert without stressing about whether they are going to be able to just pay the rent, or pay the rent and eat.
May Racine, St. Albert
