About Aboriginal Housing Society
The Aboriginal Housing Society was first incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in December of 2005. The formation of this Society was an initial response to address the lack of affordable and available housing that is disproportionately experienced by people of Aboriginal heritage in Canada as a comparison to other people demographics in Canada. The vision of the Aboriginal Housing Society is to eradicate homelessness or the threat of homelessness from the lives Aboriginal people in Canada. Our mission is to provide adequate, affordable and accessible housing to First Nations, Métis and Inuit people who live in Canada and to become the foremost authority in housing provision and advocacy for Aboriginal People in Canada.
A Board of Trustees was developed for the newly founded “Aboriginal Housing In Action Society”, which was later renamed “Aboriginal Housing Society”. Of the nine (9) Trustees on the Board of the Society, 3 of the members had to represent First Nations people, 3 of the members needed to represent Métis and/or Inuit and 3 people from any demographic at large with an expressed interest in increasing the quality of life for Aboriginal and expertise to assist the Society to meet its objectives and project goals. The primary responsibility of the Board of Trustees is accountability for the Society, advocacy on behalf of Aboriginal peoples and research and development of sustainable resources for the practical operations of the Society’s administration.
In 2007, the Aboriginal Housing Society was awarded a grant from the Alberta Housing and Urban Affairs ministry. This grant allowed the Society to build a 7 building complex on the Northside of the City of Lethbridge to retain sole entitlement to the Property Title and Deed with the only stipulation being that the rent remains affordable or below a fixed percentage of the fair market value as determined by the CMHC Annual Rental Market Report for Lethbridge rental market same type units. After many obstacles in development, most of which were public misconception, ignorance, and prejudice, construction was completed on a new 29 unit complex called Koh Koonoon (Our Home) in the Blackfoot language. Today (2010) 29 families are living in CSA and Alberta new home warranty-approved affordable housing at rents that are 20% below fair market value according to CMHC statistics. Compared to similarly aged accommodations the Koh Koonoon complex homes are as much as 50% less in rent and include the benefit of a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and stackable washer and dryer in each unit.
The Aboriginal Housing Society has recognized that this project is grossly inadequate to meet the current and increasing demand for adequate housing for Aboriginal people. The revenue received from the rent is used to sustain the administration of the society and the management of the complex. But additionally, it will be used to further develop more property and services that will assist Aboriginal people in learning to manage life-skills needed to live in an urban environment. The ultimate goal is to provide opportunity for Aboriginal people to obtain safe and affordable housing that will assist them in obtaining higher education, increased employment skills and opportunities and to become property and homeowner thereby allowing them to increase their own equity. The hypothesis is that the Society will encourage tenants to set a goal of approximately 5 to 7 years to rent at affordable rates. During this time they may increase their education and employment skills, repair or establish a credit rating to enable them to become qualified for a mortgage approval to allow them to become homeowners and, if possible, landlords to advance their own quality of life to the same advantage as with the mainstream demographics of Canada.
As is the case in the mainstream demographic, there are some people that simply do not wish to have the responsibility of being a homeowner and prefer to rent. The Society would, therefore, attempt to educate these people as to their rights and responsibilities as provided under the Residential Tenancies Act for the province in which they live. The Society will also provide assistance and advocacy for those who find themselves in a conflict with a landlord and seek to bring about fair, reasonable and legal resolution through mediation or representation in Civil Court proceeding as may be necessary. In short, the Aboriginal Housing Society will educate its membership clientele to know and understand their rights and responsibilities and to be active participants in exercising both with conviction, knowledge and respect as is common in the mainstream population.
This conviction of not limiting the Society’s operation to merely property management has fostered the conception of “Housing College”. Housing College is a vehicle of education using the complex as a live-in learning facility. Tenants are able to attend various seminars and workshops designed to establish basic urban living principles in areas such as the Residential Tenancies Act, personal budgeting, debt reduction and credit building, conflict resolution, mortgage qualification options, insurance protection options, City Bylaws and responsibilities, basic home maintenance, minor repairs, and responsibilities, preventative home health care practises, residential insurance options and benefits and other such modules of curriculum. The biggest benefit is that the children of these Tenants receive the advantage of growing up in an environment where this learning is adapted and more readily received as a part of their lifestyle. This wisdom and knowledge can be passed on to their children as part of a lifestyle that does not compromise their identity as Aboriginal people but compliments their quality of life allowing them to more fully appreciate their heritage uncomplicated by the crisis and stresses experienced by too many native people that are not familiar with these principles of urban life.
Housing College is a principle that focuses the attention of the Aboriginal Housing Society on the People - not the business of property rental. It is essential to have proper business management for self-sustenance which is why rental revenue is absolutely essential but housing is only the tool that provides a vehicle towards for quality of life, physical, emotional and spiritual healing and self-affirmation.
The Aboriginal Housing Society will build more homes, will seek to educate and develop Aboriginal homeowners and will encourage more Aboriginal people to become landlords. We will seek to assist more FNMI tenants and mentor more FNMI Landlords. These are ambitious standard to set and we are seeking ambitious partners and people willing to realize their potential and share from their experience to the benefit of others. The Aboriginal Housing Society will modify our operation to serve PEOPLE and not seek to modify People to serve our operation.
“The significant problems of our time cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that got us into them.” – Albert Einstein