Affordable housing for people with disabilities slated for Hillhurst-Sunnyside
CBC News | Posted: May 26, 2015 5:59 PM | Last Updated: May 26, 2015
‘People, if given the right support, can do amazing things,’ says man with MS who earned doctorate
Construction will begin this summer on an affordable housing development in northwest Calgary for formerly homeless people who have physical disabilities.
Aurora on the Park will be at located at 832 10th Street N.W. in the community of Hillhurst-Sunnyside.
Right now, an old house sits on the property. It will be demolished to make way for the 25-unit assisted living building.
Many welcome the addition of more affordable housing for people with disabilities in Calgary.
"Only about one per cent of the housing in our city is both accessible and affordable. So there's just a massive gap. Some would suspect it's close to 90,000 people," says Jeff Dyer, executive director of Accessible Housing.
Dyer says he gets a call every day from someone who is in dire straits because of a disability.
"They're either trapped in their own home, or they're facing homelessness, or they're recently injured, in a hospital and have no place to go," he added.
Jason Nicholson was able to find accommodations at the 4th Dimension Group Home in northwest Calgary.
Nicholson, who has multiple sclerosis and is confined to a wheelchair, has just completed a PHd in mathematics.
"People, if given the right support, can do amazing things," he said.
The Calgary Homeless Foundation is behind the Aurora on the Park project.
The $4.5-million facility is expected to start taking in tenants in the summer of 2016.