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A monthly publication by the Capital Region Interfaith Housing Initiative (CRIHI)

Mid-December 2019

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

  • A Prayer for Children

  • Provincial budget scales back rent assistance and capital for Affordable and Supportive Housing

  • Announcing: TogetherWise, a trust based approach to consultation.

  • Upcoming Events


Holiday greetings from all of us at
Interfaith Housing Initiative!


This month is full of celebration for many faith communities.  Alongside Christian celebrations in Advent and Christmas, the Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah, the Japanese celebrate Omisoka (the Japanese New Year), the African community celebrates Kwanzaa, pagan groups celebrate Yule and Saturnalia, the Buddhist community celebrates Bodhi Day (Rohatsu), and the Zoroastrians celebrate Zarathosht Diso (commemorating the Death of Prophet Zarathushtra).


Woven into the fabric of many of these holidays is a tradition of generosity, love, care, welcome and warmth expressed and shared in our respective communities.

As we reflect together in this time and place, we recognize reasons for celebration and concern, generosity and sacrifice, and we speak and pray for love and justice to be the pattern in our society.

Thank you for joining us as we work together, serve together, learn together and stand together for the life and health of all in our communities.

From the steering committee



 


A Prayer for Children

Composed by Ina Hughs from the Carnegie community 
(Downtown Eastside) in Vancouver.  


We pray for children… who put chocolate fingers everywhere, who like to be tickled, Who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants, who sneak popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those… Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can’t bounce down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never ‘counted potatoes,’ who are born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead, who never go to the circus, who live in an x-rated world.

We pray for children… who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who sleep with the dog and bury goldfish, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money, who cover themselves in Band-Aids and sing off-key, who squeeze toothpaste all over the sink.  Who slurp their soup.

And we pray for those… who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can’t find any bread to steal.  Who don’t have rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser, whose monsters are real.

We pray for children… who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed, who never rinse out the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at, and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those… whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who have never seen a dentist, who aren’t spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must. 
For those we never give up on, and for those who don’t have a second chance.  For those we smother…
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.


Reprinted with permission from The Heart of the Community: the Best of the Carnegie Newsletter; Edited by Paul Taylor.  Anthology Copyright 2003, Carnegie Community Centre



Rent Assistance and New Funding for Affordable and Supportive Housing scaled back in Provincial Budget 2019 

In 2018, CRIHI identified four priorities that we continue to believe are critical to stabilizing people and families in safe and affordable homes; crucial to the success of efforts to combat poverty in Edmonton.  
  1. The Portable Housing Benefit
  2. Permanent Supportive Housing
  3. Mobile Support Workers
  4. A Vision for the Way Ahead (emphasizing a healthy integration of housing and supports in communities across the city)
To promote these priorities, we gathered together on September 6, 2018 at Evangel Pentecostal Assembly.  The report and presentations from that event is here: https://wp.me/p20ewB-Pk.  At this event, CRIHI shared these four priorities with government leaders at federal, municipal and provincial levels. 
In November of 2019 CRIHI made inquiries to housing and community services ministries at the Province in order to explore the impact of the Provincial budget on efforts to provide housing and help to under-housed people and families in Edmonton.  Our requests were answered with clarity and honesty, but the news is not good for now. 

CRIHI is sad to learn that the 2019 Capital budget points to a disinvestment in two of the areas we highlighted as critical:

Permanent Supportive Housing
In Capital Plan 2019 there is no new funding for affordable or supportive housing.  The province is continuing with seven projects already underway.  New projects or proposals are being considered in the gearing up for Capital Plan 2020 using the existing capital planning process.  But it is unknown what kind of dollars will be allocated in 2020's budget.   We hope this is only a temporary pause, but that remains unclear.

There is also no new money for Senior’s housing this year.  This area remains a concern as Alberta will face a Senior's housing crunch in the next fifteen years as aging baby boomers enter that phase of life.  A shortage of housing options will almost certainly be felt most keenly by low-income seniors. If we are to prevent a crisis in the future, greater investments are needed beginning now; especially on more affordable options. 

The Portable Housing Benefit 
(Rent assistance provided to a household in need)
Budget 2019 begins a gradual reduction to rental assistance programs.  Existing subsidies are carrying forward, but providers have been given instructions to halt any new intake into that program.  The stated purpose of that pause is so that a ministry can do a redesign of the program to ensure those who most need it are receiving it.  But further disinvestment in this help is also slated over the next few years, purportedly to save money. 

Below are the reductions to rental assistance slated to be rolled out for the next three years:
2019 – $500,000 reduction
2021 – 11 million dollar reduction
2022 – 16 million dollar reduction

This news is particularly disheartening as the money saved is a very small amount, and it comes out of a program that provides flexible and immediate aid to families on the very edge.  And there are many...

In 2019 there were 21,000 Edmonton households paying more than 50% of their income to rent; with some families paying as high as 100%!  The wait list for affordable housing can be three to five years.  For families in these circumstances, subsidies like the child tax benefit may be all they have to cover food, transportation and other key expenses.  A rent subsidy provides immediate help to these households stuck in this crisis. 

Rent Assistance is also an area where faith communities are largely unable to help out currently.  Churches, Mosques, Temples and Gurdwaras can sometimes respond with crisis funding to cover a stay in a motel if someone loses their housing, but monthly help with the rent is a challenging commitment that most do not have financial or organizational capacity to address. 



A rent subsidy provides immediate help to households in crisis.  Research has also shown such subsidies to be effective in stabilizing people and families.  For this reason, CRIHI continues to promote investments in rent assistance as critical to the effort to address poverty in our city and province.
It is our hope and our prayer that this provincial budget represents only a pause by the Province in it's efforts to reconfigure provincial finances.  The lack of investments in real help for the most vulnerable people and families in our province will come at great cost to all of us down the road; weighed both financially and in human tragedy.   
 

Interfaith Housing is proud to present:

TogetherWise  

A trust-based approach to healthy community consultations around affordable and supportive housing.

 
Beginning in January of 2019, Interfaith Housing embarked on a resource design project intended to support quality consultations in local communities around affordable and supportive housing build.  CRIHI gathered a team of community leaders, faith leaders and housing providers to dig deep into how to get consultation right.  We did this work together out of a recognition that a quality consultation with the local community is critical both to the strength of the local project and to the welcoming of new neighbours; many of whom are hungry for warmth and connection in a new home.

Four design workshops hosted over the space of three months gave us room to work together on how to do this important work well.  Out of these sessions we identified five principles (heartbeats) of good consultation, and we created a road map with advice and best practices to do this well.  We even designed a program to carry it forward (see below).



The TogetherWise program provides the following key resources:

The TogetherWise Good Relationship Agreement to help the developer and the community clarify expectations and plan together for good process.

Facilitated conversations at three stages of the consultation process:

  1. We help frame the initial TogetherWise Good Relationship Agreement and plan.
  2. We hold a mid-point check-in to hear how things are going.
  3. We host a debrief conversation at the end of the process to bring closure and gather learnings to help other consultations.

The website http://www.togetherwiseconsulting.ca providing free access to all resources, including:

  • Five heartbeats of good consultation
  • A roadmap with advice for the journey
  • Consultation FAQs

The TogetherWise Resource Guide (print material) with key points and resources to aid the process.
 


Interfaith Housing Initiative is grateful to the many volunteers who served on our planning team and in our workshops.  We also want to express our sincere gratitude to our critical partners who provided funding and other forms of support throughout this project, and in carrying it forward in the years ahead.



 



 

March 3 through May 14, 2020 - Interfaith Habitat Works Project 


CRIHI and Habitat for Humanity Edmonton will be hosting their 9th annual Interfaith Works Project  in the Months of March through May, 2020.  We look for help from local faith groups like yours to provide volunteers, donate lunches for work crews, and participate in this year's donation drive.. Please consider marking your calendars and plan to participate in this great event. Questions? Contact Angela at angela@hfh.org.  

A few key dates:

  • Kick-Off – Tuesday March 3 from 6-7 pm at a ReStore
  • Faith leaders build day – Tuesday, April 21
  • Donation drop off event – Thursday, April 30 in early evening (last day of HfH donation drive, include a meal for people to meet and mingle) 
  • Wrap – up – Thursday, May 14, Evening event

New: Mixer Days!!
For the first time this year, CRIHI and Habitat for Humanity are organizing mixer days where individuals or groups can sign up to work alongside other faith groups.  We'll have the specific dates finalized when our committee meets mid-January.  Stay tuned!
    

 

Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
 
Welcome Home
One of the biggest reasons people struggle or fail as they come out of homelessness into housing is loneliness.  Welcome Home assembles and trains a small team of volunteers to walk with someone as a friend.  This is a one-year commitment to go for coffee, go bowling, take long walks, to encourage and pray for a fellow human being on a tough stretch of the road.  ​To find out more information about volunteering contact the Welcome Home Coordinator at 780-378-2544.
https://www.cssalberta.ca/Our-Ministries/Volunteer-Mentoring-Support

Volunteer with CRIHI on one of our working committees:
Help plan and organize events with Education and Advocacy
Join our steering committee to help us find meaningful ways to work together and learn together in addressing poverty and homelessness in Edmonton.
Email: mike@interfaithhousing.ca

Get Firsthand Experience
CRIHI's website has a strong list of opportunities where volunteers can learn by serving.  Here's the link: http://wp.me/P20ewB-5R

Get involved in your Local Community
Visit or Join your Community League - engage in your neighbourhood's efforts to build community, go for coffee with the leadership, and learn about some of the justice issues taking place in your neighbourhood.  http://www.efcl.org

Explore the social dynamics in your neighbourhood
Unsure what the needs are in your community?  MAPS Alberta is a great resource to see how your neighbourhood stacks up on a range of social demographics.  Explore their Social Atlas and numerous other useful resources at: www.mapsab.ca
Connect, Contribute, Inspire!

Join our Learning Community!
The Interfaith Housing Initiative was formed in response to a City of Edmonton and Province of Alberta commitment: the Ten-year-plan to End Homelessness.  Faith leaders from across the city came together to say, “Addressing homelessness is important to our communities too!  How can we help?”

Get Involved! Join the conversation! 
Sign up for our email newsletter and learn with us.  This is a monthly publication where we will be provide good information, generate ideas that work, tell each other’s stories, and share how communities and organizations around Edmonton are responding to the needs of Edmonton’s most vulnerable.

Share your stories with us!
A good story reminds us of what is possible.  The work of providing help, support and home to a neighbor is nothing new, and people of faith tell many stories that inspire.  Stories from today, or stories from a thousand years ago; we want to hear them!  Share the stories of compassion, hospitality that inspire you and your community so that their sharing can inspire others around Edmonton. 

Submit stories and insights to mike@interfaithhousing.ca
 
Contact Us:

Mike Van Boom
CRIHI Housing Ambassador
Mike@interfaithhousing.ca
(780) 554-2703

 
 
Religious and spiritual communities working to end homelessness in Edmonton
Copyright © 2019 Edmonton Interfaith Housing Society, All rights reserved.



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