Ensuring affordable housing for seniors
Many of us imagine that seniors spend their time taking up a new or favourite hobby, gardening, and enjoying life. The reality is that many people aged 55 plus struggle to get by or work minimum-wage jobs that leaves little money left over for the essentials. But an organization that supports people experiencing homelessness is working hard to help seniors in Waterloo Region continue to have access to affordable housing.
Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW) recently purchased Civitan Apartments Kitchener-Waterloo from the KW Civitan Club, which has been providing affordable housing for seniors since the 1970s. The down payment for the building was made possible in large part due to a three-year, $350,000 impact investment from Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF).
“We needed to secure the building, and we asked if they could help,” says Gilbert. “WRCF has been incredibly supportive of our project. We could not have moved forward without them.”
SHOW, a not-for-profit organization that supports people experiencing homelessness, mental health and addiction, currently manages 39 apartments at two supportive housing buildings in Waterloo. Its latest acquisition is the first one it will manage that specifically houses seniors. The apartment has 24 units, and Gilbert believes there’s room to add a few more apartments.
Services available at one of the current SHOW buildings, such as a medical clinic and newly hired health resources practitioner, will also be made available to residents of the Civitan.
“What we’re doing now is meeting with each tenant and assessing their needs,” says Gilbert. “But we’ve already had two tenants come up for a medical appointment. And they said it’s the first time that either of them had any medical care in a number of years, which is significant.”
Some of the tenants in SHOW buildings remind Gilbert of a woman who used to cut her hair who told Gilbert she was struggling to get by, and asked if she could help her find an apartment. By the time Gilbert went back with a solution, the hairdresser had passed away.
“This hairdresser was like a lot of people who have struggled their whole lives trying to pay rent, when access to affordable housing could have greatly improved her quality of life,” says Gilbert. “Because of that conversation I thought, ‘Ok, I have to do something about this.’”
SHOW purchased the Civitan building in July 2020, just shortly after the organization celebrated its 10th anniversary. The impact investment has allowed the organization to grow, expand its portfolio of housing, and meet its strategic plan of serving seniors, says Gilbert.
Working with WRCF has also been extremely helpful.
“There is a lot of back and forth with WRCF, and I really like that,” says Gilbert. “We’re able to come up with ideas and run it by them, and discuss challenges, and that’s been huge for us. It’s just been wonderful.
If you want to learn more about the programs and services offered through SHOW, including how you can participate in or support their initiatives, visit www.showaterloo.org. If you would like to learn more about partnering with WRCF to make impact investments, including establishing your own Donor Advised Fund – Invested for Impact, contact Dan Robert at dan@wrcf.ca or 519-725-1806 x 205
Note: This story was written prior to Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation and Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation unifying to become Waterloo Region Community Foundation. Although the story was created by KWCF, we have updated the organization name to WRCF throughout the story.