Five dwellings that will serve as homes for families needing transitional or emergency housing were officially opened Monday in Regina.
The project is part of a $1.265 million initiative before costs for some of the renovations to complete the homes.
Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services (RT/SIS) and Silver Sage Holdings Ltd. made the announcement at The Gathering Place in Regina.
The organizations were joined by members from the provincial and federal governments, along with Elder Cheryl Littletent who led the group in prayer, and other members from the community.
MLA for Regina Walsh Acres Warren Steinley was in attendance representing Minister of Social Services and Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation Paul Merriman.
He said this opportunity will allow families to have a safe place to call their home.
“There are families that are in very difficult situations, and these homes allow them a place for the kids to play and for the parents to focus on making their lives better.”
A tour was given on Monday morning for one of the homes from the project. This bungalow style house will eventually have four bedrooms once renovations are completed. (Photo: Moises Canales/620 CKRM)
The project was made possible with the partnership between RT/SIS and Silver Sage Holdings, who acquired and renovated the homes, along with funding from the provincial and federal governments.
Just under $800,000 was contributed under the Canada-Saskatchewan Investment in Affordable Housing Agreement. Meanwhile Silver Sage pitched in approximately $460,000 in the form of cash/land equity and mortgage financing, according to a release from the government.
Erica Beaudin with RT/SIS is someone who benefited from this program in the past.
During the presentation at The Gathering Place, Beaudin shared her story to guests and explained how this opportunity gives families a chance to work on other aspects of life.
“I needed a place where my children had a safe place to sleep and play,” she said to reporters. “I was able to have a safe home for myself with three children under five years old while leaving a very difficult situation.
She added how the project allowed her to finish school at the University of Regina, eventually leading to owning her own house. Now, her kids will soon be completing post-secondary school and are already looking at purchasing houses themselves.
Maynard Sonntag, CEO of Silver Sage, was thrilled to be a part of the announcement on Monday.He believes this is a huge step in helping a rising need of at-risk families seeking these types of homes or facing a housing crisis.
“There’s more and more demand, we have people coming in every day looking for a place to live,” he stated. “We could fill many more houses.”
Sonntag talked about how there are around 300 people on their waiting list which is the number of applications sitting on their files at this time.
The homes opened on Monday are located in residential neighbourhoods providing families close access to shopping, schools and other services.
