Regina charity building housing project for low-income single mothers and their kids

Up to 12 low-income single mothers in Regina and their kids will soon have a new place to call home while they get back on their feet.

Lilium Village — which will be located in the Heritage Neighbourhood — consists of six tiny home duplexes (12 units) with three bedrooms, one bathroom, a full kitchen and laundry in each unit. One single mother and her children will occupy each unit and they can stay for two to five years.

Victoria Aspinall and her husband are behind the project.

"Lilium Village is something that Regina hasn't really seen before," said Aspinall.

"We're doing things a little bit differently where we are combining housing with a comprehensive support system and a real focus on building those healthy relationships and moving people from being on social assistance to being completely self-sufficient."

Aspinall said rent will cost 30 per cent of the tenant's monthly income and they'll have access to programming that helps them build positive relationships, manage their finances, develop job skills and other practical matters.

She said the duplexes should be ready to move into next fall.

'The most long-term change'

Aspinall said they wanted to focus on helping low-income single moms because "it's really the most vulnerable population in society. It's also where we can see the most long-term change."

Saskatchewan had the highest rate of police-reported family violence in 2019, according to a Statistics Canada report released in September.

The report says women and girls experienced a higher rate of family violence than men and boys in every province and territory.

"We see these women who maybe are staying in unsafe housing situations just because they need to provide a roof for their children and it's not necessarily the best place for them to be," said Aspinall.

"To be able to move them out of that place and into a place of strength and support for their family is really key to changing our society as a whole."

Lilium Village is being coordinated through an organization called MayBell Developments, which was founded by Aspinall and her husband.

The organization is running a matching donation campaign for the month of November and they are looking for local contractors who want to get involved with the project.

MayBell Developments is a registered Canadian charity that focuses on ending poverty, according to its website.

"We empower materially poor people with the tools they need to become the people God created them to be," the website says.