An Afternoon with Discovery House + Calgary Housing

The Ward 9 team had an informative afternoon learning more about a couple of really important initiatives in our city.

Our first visit was with the amazing staff at Discovery House - a second-stage shelter giving women and children a longer-term, safe place to call home while they rebuild their lives after leaving domestic violence. For over 40 years, Discovery House has been offering wrap-around supports and programs for families living in their shelter space, as well as those living in the community. The meaningful work Discovery House does is an important contribution to breaking the cycle of family violence.

Later on, we met up with the team from Calgary Housing Company (CHC) to learn more about the vital work they are doing to increase access to affordable housing in our city. Ward 9 is home to 24% of CHC-managed properties, providing subsidized and below-market rental homes and supplements to Calgarians earning low to moderate-incomes. But demand for this type of housing is far out-pacing supply, with over 6,000 households currently on CHC’s waitlist (with that number only expected to grow.)

Access to safe, affordable housing is critically important to families, individuals and our entire community, but it also makes financial sense - the cost to house someone in community is approximately $15 per person per day, as opposed to $150 per person per day for someone experiencing homelessness. Please lend your voice and support the urgent need for more affordable housing options in our city.

Thank you so much to both Discovery House and Calgary Housing for the important work they are doing.