Saskatchewan housing project gets funding boost

The project aims to support large households wrestling with low incomes

Saskatchewan housing project gets funding boost

Through the Canada-Saskatchewan agreement under the National Housing Strategy, an investment of more than $1 million has been provided for the Homes of Hope project in Prince Albert.

The Homes of Hope program by River Bank Development Corporation renovates existing affordable houses to add an additional two to three bedrooms, bringing the per-unit total to four or five bedrooms. These units are aimed at supporting large families with low incomes, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

“River Bank also partnered with KidsFirst Prince Albert, Native Co-ordinating Council and Family Futures to connect families to a number of supports, including counselling, child development, early learning literacy, nutrition, home visits, mental health and addictions support and crisis intervention,” CMHC said.

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Federal, provincial, and municipal officials together with representatives from River Bank recently marked the completion of Phases IV and V of Homes of Hope.

“River Bank is pleased to work with the Government of Saskatchewan, the Government of Canada and the city of Prince Albert to develop affordable housing for families in Prince Albert. We noticed several years ago that many of our families required larger homes because of the number of children they have and received funding from the Rental Development Program to buy and renovate four units, increasing the number of bedrooms to four or five,” said Brian Howell, manager at River Bank.

“[This] has been one of our most successful projects and we look forward to our continuing partnerships with the three levels of government to provide decent, safe housing for our tenants.”