By Toyin Obatusin - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on November 27, 2024.
Construction is progressing on a new supportive housing project being built by Lethbridge Housing Association.
The project is located at 416 Stafford Drive North and is one of the community solutions discussed at the panel discussion addressing the opioid crisis in Lethbridge that was held on Oct. 29 at the Lethbridge Public Library.
The Herald was invited for a tour this week of the construction site by Ryan Olsen of Elevate Construction Partners, who is the primary contact for construction and Robin James, Chief Administrative Officer of the LHA.
Elevate Construction Partners, after a unanimous vote by Lethbridge city councils started the build in early summer of 2024 and construction has been on schedule and on budget ever since. The supportive housing Unit is scheduled to be completed by fall of 2025.
Councillor Rajko Dodic earlier this year noted the importance of this initiative for the City of Lethbridge after council unanimously approved an official business motion by him to provide LHA with $1,050,000 from the Affordable and Social Housing Capital Grant for the project conditional upon the inclusion of key project features and the execution by LHA and the City of Lethbridge of an agreement satisfactory to the City Manager.
Total cost of the project estimated by LHA to be $11,276,000 with $10,226,000 being provided for the province to cover the cost of 25 units.
This is a three-level building with options to use elevators or stairs to reach either the second or third levels. There is also added wheelchair accessibility.
The units in the building will not be shared accommodation, but rather single occupancy bedrooms with a kitchenette and a small fridge. On the third level of the building there will be an uncovered rooftop patio, as well as connected apartment suites with emergency exits already in place.
On the main floor is the dining area, as well as a commercial kitchen. There will also be a medical clinic, with doctors and a pharmacy.
This initiative is for those who have recently gone through detox and recovered from addiction and are wanting to continue on the path of sobriety. “The focus is recovery,” said James during the tour.
LHA wants to ensure that this “purpose built” supportive housing facility and its programs maintain a recovery focus. Folks who are living in recovery are advised to have daily meaningful activities, which is why The LHA will provide indoor (on site) and outdoor (within the Lethbridge community), activities.
For future residents whose goal is to transition back into society, this will allow them to merge in a positive manner. Programs based out of the facility have yet to be determined.
Residents who have been homeless or lived in shelters prior to attending rehab or a detox program, will be accommodated first. Although all residents will be considered low income, the range of yearly income will be based on their most current income released by the Government of Alberta.
Because of the high chances of residences being in recovery, there will be a “no use” policy within the building, says James.
All referrals for potential residency at the establishment will go through LHA’s Coordinated Access Round Table aka as CART, and if certain criteria are met, they will be accepted.
Staffing will include recovery coaches, support staff, case managers, cleaning and janitorial staff, and kitchen staff.
Although there have been objections to the construction of the supportive housing initiative, James would like the community to know that, “We’ve also had some great support”.
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I am a Non-Supporter, let me explain why! I believe the result of all of this will be called “Residential Schools part 2”. The difference between the previous initiative and the current one, is this one will finally be successful, whereas its predecessor failed miserably.
Residential Schools (RS1) and Rehab, housing and jobs (RS2) have different objectives but will yield the same result. RS1’s purpose – “The purpose of residential schools was to educate and convert Indigenous youth and to assimilate them into Canadian society……………….. The federal government supported schooling as a way to make First Nations economically self-sufficient. Their underlying objective was to decrease Indigenous dependence on public funds. The government therefore collaborated with Christian missionaries to encourage religious conversion and Indigenous economic self-sufficiency.
I recently was at a meeting run by Alvin Mills. I asked a panel member what the purpose of the Social Services infrastructure that was now being established in Lethbridge. The answer was to help, rehab, provide trauma support, coping skills etc etc, then house and provide jobs in Lethbridge.
A panel member then explained that we do not have enough shelter space and another shelter in another part of the city is needed.
So, we have the stated purpose of RS1 which removed youth from within Reserve Communities. RS1 never set up a “Res School” within the Reserve because the intent was to depopulate those pesky areas of society and provide a way into white mans society, speaking the white mans language. Basically the plan was to create a White Indian!
RS2 Appears on the scene, RS1 had to drag the children kicking and screaming out of their homes to get them under white man control. RS2 just has to wait for addiction to occur, or offer bait of a home away from Mom and Dad free of Charge and suddenly RS2 appears to be already more successful?
RS1 surrounded the native with Catholic Nuns, and preached the saviour, forcing the native tongue to disappear from an entire generation of youth and absorb the native into white society. RS2 has it far better, natives already speak english, are “at their most vunerable state ” so can be molded into the whitemans society with promises of whiteman housing and jobs!
The Federal Government and provincial Government sponsors the entire program fully, just as they did for RS1. This is happening across Canada, as we whitemen increase shelters, housing and opportunity focused on the Indigenous in whitemen communities, we are creating a successful RS2 where RS1 failed.
The con of course is, tear in eye, “savin lives, help the people” etc etc etc. The unfortunate part of this is Elders, who should know better are putting a Blood Tribe Approved Stamp on the depopulation of Standoff and surrounding communities. While Alvin Mills struggles to get a $1.20 to run his rehab in an Indigenous environment. Money comes in, in buckets to organizations like Lethbridge Housing Authority.
I asked Robin James why she/city/Province chose the property they now have this new facility situated on, the response was it was the only property where NIMBY would not be an issue, or something to that affect.
So we take the most vulnerable, those trying to rehab, and put them in a swanky new building half a block from the largest distribution drug network in Lethbridge (Shelter) also owned by LHA?
If rehab fails, move him/her to another LHA building 1/2 block away (shelter), if success, then keep in new LHA building until he she is ready to be transferred into another LHA semi-permanet housing facility. If successful, then transfer to another LHA permanent rental unit within the community.
Meanwhile as more shelters are created the more youth is extracted from Standoff because, who wouldn’t want to come to the party city? Standoff loses an entire generation, again.
So, RS2 is destined to absolutely destroy any Reserve town, near a city with this type of infrastructure, and, they never had to worry about going on the reserve to steal children, its a perfect con!
I wonder whom will eventually win? Alvin Mills’ way, subsidized to the tune of a $1.20 Indigenous Cash or Robin James /LHA loading $10,000,000 of whiteman cash, at a time, into petty cash drawer? My Bet? Residential Schools Part 2 of course….that does not make it right, in fact its DEAD WRONG!
Hopefully the New Chief see’s this for what it is, and strips many of the present day “Elders” of that title because their knowledge base has been contaminated by government cash!
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