Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Region of Waterloo has announced $3 million to build 30 new homes that will be managed by KW Urban Native Wigwam Project. Another $4.5 million will be contributed from the Rapid Housing Initiative through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC).
The Region’s Equity Investment Fund is a vision to improve the economic, social, and cultural health and well-being of Indigenous, Black, racialized, and marginalized groups who experience discrimination and exclusion.
“The Region of Waterloo is committed to ensuring everyone in our community is included and has a safe place to call home. It’s projects like the KW Urban Native Wigwam in Cambridge that exemplify our vision and put both our Equity Investment Fund and affordable housing plan into action,” said Regional Chair Karen Redman.
All 30 homes are for Indigenous People, and 16 of these homes will be dedicated specifically to Indigenous women and their children. The development will be located at 27-31 Cambridge St. in Cambridge.
The initiative is part of the Region’s affordable housing plan, Building Better Futures: 2,500 Homes in 5 Years, which aspires to increase the average number of affordable homes created each year from 50 to 500.
“These units are more than a roof over someone’s head, they offer a place to heal, grow and learn. In this case, many of those people will be women and children,” said Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry.
CMHC funding has also been announce for OneROOF at 35 Sheldon Avenue N. in Kitchener,to create an estimated 44 new units for youth and will see a significant reduction of chronic youth homelessness in Waterloo Region.
“This new funding will be absolutely pivotal for K-W Urban Native Wigwam Project and for the Indigenous community,” said executive director Lee Ann Hundt.
“This will be a game changer for us and something that will make the lives of many people in this community so much better. It will allow us to do something we have never been able to do before in our 30-year history of housing in the Region of Waterloo.”
