After living in hotels for two years, this family of six is finally home
The Saab family moved into a new YWCA affordable housing unit in Dartmouth this month
When Fadi Saab and his family got the keys to their new townhouse in Dartmouth, N.S., the first thing they did was go grocery shopping and cook a big meal to celebrate.
After living on the cusp of homelessness for two years, staying in various hotels and short-term rentals, this small act brought immense comfort.
"It's like we were feeling pain for a long time, and then once and for all, all the pain disappear," Saab said.
CBC News spoke to Saab in January from his hotel room, detailing his struggle to find an affordable rental in Halifax. But since then, things have changed.
In early September, Saab and his wife and four children received a spot in one of 32 new affordable rental homes for families in Mount Hope Village, funded by YWCA Halifax and all three levels of government.
He said for the first time since his family came to Canada from Lebanon two years ago as refugee claimants, they feel like they're home.
"It was so good to know that you are moving finally someplace for a long term and not temporary, that you can make a plan for long term," he said.
The Dartmouth neighbourhood, built by construction company Shaw Group Ltd., is mixed with market-price homes. The YWCA bought 32 of the townhouses to be affordable in perpetuity, with a total project cost of more than $12 million.
The first families started moving in in August, with more to come.
Ten of the units are earmarked for urban Indigenous families currently experiencing homelessness and working with the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre. Twelve units are for families currently living in hotels and being supported by Adsum for Women and Children.
The rest will be for families participating in one of the YWCA's existing housing programs.
Families will have access to services, such as support for maintaining the unit, referrals to mental health and health-care services, and employment skills training.
The provincial Department of Community Services will provide $510,000 annually to YWCA Halifax for operating costs, and is still determining how much annual funding will go to the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre.
Decreased family homelessness list by 1/3
The YWCA's two-bedroom units will rent for around $1,000 monthly, the three-bedroom units for around $1,400, and families can stay as long as they want.
Saab, who works as a custodian at Dalhousie University, said the rent for the three-bedroom is less than half the price of many of the market rentals he viewed as he searched for a place for his family to live.
Miia Suokonautio, executive director of YWCA Halifax, said this will make a massive difference as part of the organization's mandate to provide for women and their families.
"To know it's yours, now you can start to plan. You can look to the future. You can start to set down roots," she said.
Suokonautio said there were 94 families on Halifax's by-name list that tracks people experiencing homelessness. These new units will reduce that list by a third, and put 50 to 60 children in stable housing.
"Those children will be going to schools, they'll be able to grow up there," Suokonautio said. "They'll know their neighbours. And that's … where you build your life from."
Construction on the units broke ground last year and was completed in July. Suokonautio said partnerships with private industry like Shaw Group and all levels of government working together to provide funding can really speed up progress.
"It's a real testament, and 94 [families] feels like an insurmountable number, but you can see in a matter of 12 months you can make a real impact on that number," she said.
She said the YWCA has more housing projects in the works, and is always looking for new partnerships to help move women and their families out of homelessness faster.
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