Places for People

 

 

“Never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful
committed citizens can
change the world,
indeed it is the only
        thing that ever has.”       

    – Margaret Mead.

 

 

Before and After the Renovations on George Street in Haliburton.

What began with a great idea and a lot of enthusiasm has seen a small group of passionate volunteers turn a run-down property in the heart of Haliburton village into two spacious 3-bedroom apartments with affordable rent for two local families.

Places for People is a community-based, registered charity backed by an active and engaged Board of Directors that are making this initiative a continued success. Places for People’s model for increasing affordable rental housing is to buy an existing run-down property within walking distance of essential services, renovate it using extensive community input, rent it to people at risk of homelessness, and support them to have a successful tenancy. 

 “Haliburton County has the dubious distinction of being the poorest county in Ontario.” Says Fay Martin, President of Places for People in the video (linked below), “And because we have a poor population we should have a higher percentage of rental [accommodations] than elsewhere, and we don’t.”

After a 2 year community consultation period, Places for People incorporated and obtained charitable status, then embarked on the challenging task of acquiring a property in Haliburton County. It was difficult at first to find a space that met the strict criteria of the Places for People model as the building had to be within walking distance of a grocery store, ‘run-down’ but suitable for renovation for at least two rental units. The organization had to accomplish all this with a borrowing limit of only $150,000.     

The Haliburton County Development Corporation (HCDC) was able to aid Places for People in their journey to transform the George Street building into a home by offering business planning assistance and providing a mortgage.

Commenting on the success of the first building, Andy Campbell, General Manager of the HCDC stated, “The Places for People initiative is a great partnership between entrepreneurship and social enterprise, whereby the project has to demonstrate the capacity to become self-sustainable.”       

Places for People took possession of its first property in July 2009 and carried out a complete renovation, with extensive assistance from businesses and individuals in the community, welcoming tenants on Feb 1, 2010.  Now in July of 2010, Places for People has finished the last of the renovations and the tenants are successfully settling in.  This is permanent housing for the tenants; while they needed to exhibit financial need to qualify to become tenants, they may continue the tenancy as long as they choose.  Places for People ‘grows’ their program by leveraging the asset created by the renovation to purchase another building, and do the magic of engaging the community in a transformation all over again. 

The next step for the organization is continued fundraising to pay off the last of the renovation costs. When this is accomplished Places for People will begin looking for its second ‘run-down’ home to upgrade  and make available as affordable rental housing in Haliburton County.                                                                                                          

Fay Martin looks back on the achievements of Places for People so far, “This project was most successful because there is a very warm feeling out there in the community about it. There is a very broad sense of ownership throughout the community; we built community as we were building homes. Because of the high profile the project had during the renovation phase, it’s no secret that the tenants are of limited means.  They are being welcomed and becoming valued members of the community, being neighbourly, taking pride in and tending the property.  Our goal of social integration of our tenants into the community seems well on the way.”

 

 

View a video about the creation of affordable rental housing by Places for People

 

 

 

For more information about Places for People visit their website. www.placesforpeople.ca