I. Social Housing Project Case Study

Introducing transitional housing project

One of the key reasons for working with the Elizabeth Fry Society to research into the potential of completing transitional housing for youth is the fact that shelter is such a key aspect of people’s lives.
It was really incredible during the research process to find that the community was in unity on so many levels. People from many agencies wanted young people to transition into good housing irrespective of their background and presenting social issues.

Great relationships in the community

One of the most encouraging aspects of the research was finding out about the many quality relationships that the Society has in the community. It is these kinds of relationships that create the foundation of strategic partnership upon which and a social housing project can be based on a long term basis.

Facilitating direct consultation meetings with the youth who would eventually use the service was just amazing. These young people could articulate their needs far beyond how any professional ad specialist could. At the same time they were very respectful of the role and perspective professionals bring to the topic.

Youth are prepared to share the responsibility

During our research we were first introduced to the notion of youth taking part in building the house or houses was introduced by Canadian Home Builders Association: Kamloops (now Canadian Home Builders Association: Central Interior). It was very encouraging to see how this theme was picked up by other agencies and the youth themselves. Both male and female youth were just as inspired, and enthusiastic about the potential opportunity to build a home to live in rather than just having the house built for them.

The attitude of the youth towards participating in the building of the houses raised some positive factors for supporting the project through social enterprise in the long term. The notion of social enterprise creates a 'massive rush' with us at SPH Consultancy because it is not simply about providing the social needs of people in our community. It goes to the heart of the philosophy which was about empowerment. Business and social awareness goes hand in hand; you have your shelter and then use your creativity to deliver a business that fills a gap, and meets the need of the wider community.

The major challenge

As we engaged fully into the research it became evident that collecting and analyzing information would not be the most challenging. It would be to take the project to the next level and to the point of securing funding and demonstrate the ability of the Society to sustain the cost of operating the project in the long term.

Persistence is the key that will open the door!!

It is very encouraging for SPH to work with Elizabeth Fry to continue to address the needs of the community for social housing which is a matter close to our hearts, and is vital for the sustainability of strong communities.

shirley@sphconsultancy.com