Ward Six Alderman and Mayoral candidate, Joe Connelly shares his thoughts on affordable housing
Affordable Housing. Two simple words on paper which contain a thousand complications woven in a tight web below them.
To believe that an organization like the City of Calgary, led by City Council, can determine the cause, tackle all related issues, design a solution and effectively implement tactics such that it becomes affordable for everyone to own a home is simply not rooted in reality.
While I believe there exist measures, based on sound business strategies, that can be taken to help the situation, I do not believe that any city can ever fully and permanently solve the issue of affordable housing without the active support of the provincial government and the commitment of many agencies.
Let's address just a handful of the complications.
First - who is affected? Affordable housing touches our youth, our seniors, individuals, families and all demographics in-between.
Second - why does it exist? Not being able to afford a home can be affected by unemployment, poor health, addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc.), family violence, illiteracy, lack of education and training, mental or physical disabilities and many other issues. And to make it even more complicated, it is - more often than not - a combination of several.
Third - when does it happen? Not being able to afford a home can be a chronic situation, a slowly eroding situation, or a sudden and unexpected set-back such as unforeseen financial difficulty, a medical emergency, an accident, or the death of a family income-earner.
Next, there are often additional social issues that affect any solution such as a lack of nutritious meals, little or no tools or abilities to integrate into society, and an inability to address basic human needs. These tangent issues give rise to the need and great work done by seemingly unrelated support systems such as the Calgary Food Bank, Salvation Army, dedicated church groups and annual assistance programs run by hundreds of volunteers such as Calgary Connects.
We simply cannot build a box of affordable housing solutions and hope that every scenario fits in the box.
Understanding the complexity of those two simple words - affordable housing - we need to look at Calgary's specific situation.
Experts say that on average for every 100,000 residents in a city, there will be 300 homeless individuals. So taking a crass look at pure numbers, our city should have 3,000 homeless individuals. But Calgary's homeless population is considerably higher. Why? I believe it is due to our tumultuous economy. When things are good in Calgary, things are really good. Our reputation becomes one of "the streets are paved with gold." But as we all know and have experienced, when things go wrong, they can go really wrong.
Just as Canada is a beacon of opportunity to so many other world cultures, Calgary is the beacon of opportunity within Canada. Many come here with hopes and dreams of a better life, only to find themselves caught in one of our severe economic downturns.
While Calgary does experience these ups and downs it is not an excuse to not see at least some progress. Major U.S. cities that have been addressing the issue for far longer than we have are seeing results: Chicago's decline of homelessness by 12%, Denver's by 46% and Columbia by 36%. But their efforts took a combination of an abundance of money, volunteers and time.
If Calgary is a lightening rod with a higher than average number of homeless individuals, I believe a starting point for a solution must be built on a foundation of sound business practices specific to our situation. Homelessness is a continuum. It is not something we can solve forever and check-off our to-do list. But if the plan is built on a solid foundation, it will allow for that continuum.
First, we need to set a solid plan that allows for specific outcomes. Develop a strategy for each sub-group and target necessary resources. As I said, we can't build a one-box solution and hope every scenario can be stuffed into it. In business, one such strategic tool is known as the S.T.A.R. approach.
Access the Situation, develop a Targeted strategy, Action the plan, and measure the Results. Following this four-step business process will help guide our council decisions and allow us to measure our results.
Second, we need to make mainstream programs and organizations that are connected to affordable housing accountable for their outcomes. They need to be active participants at the table with the city during the design and implementation phases, but taken one step further - their accountability is critical to measuring our success in addressing the issue and also to Calgary taxpayers who are financial contributors to the effort.
Third, we need to develop an adequate supply of affordable housing locations and stagger those locations so integration into the community is possible. This means working closely with our developers and home builders, securing their commitment.
And last, we need to build the supporting infrastructure starting with homes, but continuing past a roof over one's head to creating more job and educational opportunities, and ensuring access to other required support services that will create a hand-up versus a hand-out mentality.
In four paragraphs I have written words of a plan that sound easy, but in fact, like the issue itself, are extremely complex. They need the active participation of thousands of organizations. But as Peter Drucker says "leadership is about results" and that leadership must start at the top.
If the City of Calgary embraced this issue by utilizing sound business principles and gave it the attention it needs to incubate solutions, I know Calgarians would support the effort and would even be part of the solution.
As Alderman of Ward Six, one of the projects I have had the privilege of being involved in is the attainable housing project called the Summit of Montreaux. The community was initially aggressively opposed when they learned of it, with many angry residents voicing their opinions at town hall meetings. But as I told participants at the Avenue Big Idea Mayoral Candidate Forum, and I reiterate here, I would not change my support for this project because it was the right thing to do. I consider my vote on City Council my single largest responsibility. My vote and active support contributed to the building of The Summit of Montreaux which now houses more than 150 people whose contributions to fellow Calgarians are invaluable - nurses, firemen, teachers and many other professionals.
"Nimby"ism is alive and well in all of us - it is human nature to demand a solution to a socially rooted problem as long as the solution is "not in my back yard". But it takes strength of character, thoughtful discussion and willingness to make this a better city for all to live in, and I firmly believe Calgarians are those people.
While we can point to projects that have experienced controversy and set-backs, I believe, in the end, Calgarians are some of the warmest and most generous people in Canada. I am proud of the residents of Ward Six who set their personal agendas aside and in the end, welcomed those who simply needed a gentle hand up to get them back on the road to their personal dreams and ambitions.
Affordable Housing. Two words turned into a 1,200 word blog post. And that is not even the tip of the iceberg. But these words are my thoughts on this complex issue.
I would like to sincerely thank Avenue Magazine for their foresight in developing The Big Idea, and for providing the opportunity to share my opinion on Affordable Housing as a Mayoral candidate.
—Joe Connelly
Joe Connelly was elected as the Alderman for Ward 6 in 2007 and is currently running for Mayor in the 2010 municipal election, to take place October 18.
To hear what other candidates have to say about affordable housing watch Avenue's Big Idea Mayoral Candidate Forum, which took place June 14 and read candidate the blog post by fellow candidate Craig Burrows.
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