April 13, 2004

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SURREY, BRITISH COLUMBIA – People at risk of homelessness will benefit from a new multi-service housing development, the first of its kind in Surrey. Hyland House provides an emergency shelter, transitional housing, support services and skills training under one roof. The facility officially celebrated its opening today.

Hyland House is a project by Options: Services to Communities Society. The project combines contributions from the federal and provincial governments, through the Government of Canada’s National Homelessness Initiative (NHI) and the joint Canada-BC Affordable Housing Program.

“This innovative project is a compelling example of how governments can work together to provide compassionate, affordable housing services for people trying to overcome homelessness and move forward in their lives,” said the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Homelessness.

“The Government of Canada is working in partnership with the provincial government and other groups to bring quality affordable housing to the people of British Columbia,” said the Honourable Andy Scott, Minister of State (Infrastructure) and Minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. “Successes like Hyland House are key to developing strong communities, not just here in B.C., but throughout Canada.”

“The province is committed to delivering a range of housing options for vulnerable British Columbians,” said provincial Housing Minister Murray Coell. “Hyland House combines emergency and transition housing with support services to help vulnerable individuals make the move to more permanent housing and lead independent, productive lives.”

“Research has shown that Surrey and the other south Fraser communities have the greatest number of homeless people in the GVRD living on the street with no access to shelter beds,” said provincial Human Resources Minister Stan Hagen. “This new shelter provides temporary accommodation to alleviate homelessness in the community, with extra capacity available during cold/wet weather.”

The 35-bed emergency shelter and 20 units of transition housing are located in two separate buildings on the same site. The shelter is staffed 24 hours a day and provides food, counselling, life skills training, and referrals to health, pre-employment and community services for homeless men and women. Residents in the transition housing also have access to many of these support services to raise self-esteem and foster independence.

“We believe in helping people to help themselves,” said Peter Fedos, Program Manager of Options: Services to Communities Society. “Together, we can build a healthy community where each of us has the opportunity to work, learn, develop and realize meaningful goals.”

The Government of Canada launched the NHI in December 1999 to support communities’ efforts to help Canadians out of homelessness. Over $1 billion is being spent towards the federal government’s commitment to addressing homelessness in Canada. Since the NHI was launched, the Government of Canada has supported 295 projects, with a total of almost $70.7 million to alleviate homelessness in British Columbia and the Yukon.

Under the Canada-BC Affordable Housing Agreement, the Government of Canada, through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, will contribute $88.7 million over the next five years towards affordable housing in this province. The provincial government, through BC Housing, will provide $29.7 million annually to subsidize the costs of units built under this agreement as part of a larger strategy to provide a range of housing options for vulnerable British Columbians.

This year, the provincial government will contribute $154.4 million in funding to subsidized housing. Since June 2001, the government has committed funding for construction of about 3,400 housing units across B.C. To date, about 2,850 of these units have been completed, and about 550 units are currently under development.

This news release is available at www.bchousing.org online.

For more information about this project, please see attached backgrounder. For more information on the Government of Canada’s National Homelessness Initiative visit our Web site at www.homelessness.gc.ca

Contact:

Gloria Chu
Corporate Communications BC Housing
(604) 439-4757

Darrell Ferner
Deputy Director
Options: Services to Communities Society
(604) 596-4321

Lynn Jackson
Director-Community Initiatives and Policy
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
(604) 666-2859

Denis D’Amour
Minister Bradshaw’s office
(506) 851-3419

Christina Wensley
CMHC
(604) 737-4032

Options: Services to Communities Society

Options: Services to Communities Society was incorporated in 1973 as a multi-service non-profit charity dedicated to empowering individuals, supporting families and promoting community health through a variety of programs that include:

• Family and Child Services • Women’s Services • Youth Services • Housing and Shelter Services • Mental Health Services • Multicultural Services • Child Care Services

The Society operates over 50 different programs and projects and employs approximately 250 staff. Options’ sister organization, the Habitat Housing Society, manages affordable housing for families and people with mental illness.

Options: Services to Communities Society worked diligently to share information about Hyland House with the surrounding neighbourhood. It established a neighbourhood advisory committee to consult with the community and address local concerns.

Through that process, people learned that the shelter at Hyland House is staffed 24 hours a day, and provides food, counselling, life skills training, and referrals to health and community services for homeless men and women.

Housing Development Facts Hyland House 6595 King George Highway, Surrey

Number of units: 35 emergency shelter beds (31 one-person sleeping units and 2 two-person sleeping units) and 20 units of transition housing

• This multi-service development combines 20 units of longer term transition housing with an emergency shelter. • The emergency shelter has 35 beds, with space to add 15 extra beds in a large meeting room in winter to respond to the increase in demand for emergency shelter during this season. • Referrals to the emergency shelter are made through the Ministry of Human Resources, community Mental Health Centres, and Surrey Memorial, Langley Memorial, Peace Arch and Delta Hospitals. • Options operated two 10-bed emergency shelters for men in private rental homes in Surrey for 10 years, and these resources have now been transferred to the new development. • The shelter is staffed 24 hours a day, and provides a safe, supportive environment where men and women can prepare to move into longer term accommodation. Length of stay in the shelter varies from overnight to several weeks, depending upon need and bed availability. • People staying at Hyland House have access to meals, counselling, and life skills training, as well as referrals to health and community services for homeless men and women.

Partnership Contributions The capital cost of this development is $5 million.

The federal government’s contributions include: • almost $3.1-million Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative contribution through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada; • a $650,000-Canada-BC Affordable Housing Program grant through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The provincial government contributions include: • $8.1 million in operating subsidies over 35 years provided through BC Housing for the longer term housing component (transition housing); • $682,512 annual operating funding for the emergency shelter component of the facility through the Ministry of Human Resources.

Options: Services to Communities Society owns and operates Hyland House.