The City of Lacombe approved a total of $460,000 for two proposed affordable housing projects in the city. 

$80,000 will be allocated to Central Alberta Youth Unlimited for the construction of the YU-Turn Girl’s house, which is a supportive living home for at-risk girls and women. 

“They already have a history in Lacombe for providing supportive housing for youth. They have the one for males. When FCSS conducted the rural homelessness study I believe that showed that there was a need for more of the same but also for girls,” explained Outi Kite, Chair of the Affordable Housing Steering Committee. 

Given the success of the YU-Turn’s Boy’s House, Lacombe City Council was on board with providing the same service to young women in the area. The grant will be used as a down payment to purchase the home. 

“There’s a lot of factors that go into making this type of housing a necessity and Lacombe is no different from other communities in that we do have youth that find themselves in a position where they do need a helping hand. I think building on the success of the boy’s supportive housing, I see no reason why the girls won’t be well utilized and be equally successful,” said City of Lacombe Mayor Grant Creasey. 

The house will provide a home to three female residents as well as supervising house parents.

The program gives young women the opportunity to start fresh while teaching them valuable life skills. 

“The girls have certain rules they need to follow in order to live there. They need to be either in school, or employed, or looking for employment and then they get the life skills training,” said Kite. 

Additionally, $380,000 will be given to Tricon Developments Inc. for the construction of an affordable housing project in the former Lacombe Hotel. The old hotel’s redesign will mean 15 one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites in the upper two levels of the building. Meanwhile, the main floor will continue to operate as a commercial storefront. 

Kite is estimating rent in the suites will be around $765.

“The rents will be below market. That means that they will be at least 10 per cent below current market rents,” said Kite. 

The updates to the affordable housing market were brought on by a housing needs assessment that was updated in 2019. After the assessment, it became obvious low-income housing was in need in the city. 

“For housing affordability, for example, it stated that on the rental almost 35 per cent of renters were paying more than per cent of their household income on rent. We consider affordability 30 per cent or less,” explained Kite. 

Overall, Mayor Creasey is excited about the prospect of helping Lacombe’s most vulnerable.  

“It is an extremely important indication of the community as a whole when you are able to extend a hand to the most vulnerable and see that everyone is given an opportunity to be in a better position to make positive life choices,” added Creasey. 

Funding for the programs was made possible through a $371,500 provincial grant meaning $88,500 was a contribution from the City of Lacombe.