Canadian Mental Health Association Battlefords branch Executive Director Jane Zielke de Montbrun. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Tyler Marr

A HAND UP

City donates land for proposed mental health supported independent living project

Jun 26, 2019 | 3:29 PM

City council has donated land for a proposed independent supported living housing project in North Battleford that will look to ease the transition for those living with mental illness into the community.

Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Battlefords branch Executive Director Jane Zielke de Montbrun asked lawmakers for the land at 1922 Kramer Place to help mitigate the cost of the housing project.

Proposed is two four-unit, one bedroom apartment buildings that face each other with shared green space in the middle. A common meeting area will be located at the back, expected to be used as social teaching space for residents. Zielke de Montbrun said the common space will have the capacity to provide emergency transitional housing for one individual as needed.

The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) is covering 70 per cent of the cost while the remaining 30 per cent will be secured through a mortgage taken on by CMHC, paid via rent collected from tenants.

“If our application is successful, this project will provide eight more spaces needed by others living with significant mental health problems that are in the early stages of transitioning into community from group homes and Saskatchewan Hospital,” Zielke de Montbrun said, adding how upwards of 47 people could benefit from the project.

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Funding is secured for a housing support worker who will send about 2.5 hours per week with each client to build skills, ensuing the homes are being maintained and to mitigate isolation through regular contact. Tenants will also agree to a wellness plan that includes peer support, CMHA program participation and tenant group sessions, among others.

The SHC has deemed the proposal a priority as it addresses the needs of hard to house individuals, however, a comprehensive application still needs to be submitted under the Rental Development Program.

Before embarking on the endeavour in the Battlefords, Zielke de Montbrun said the organization toured similar projects in Prince Albert, which have proven wildly successful. She said in five years, only one person has been evicted, and because of the success, four more projects have gone up in Prince Albert.

“Don’t we all want to live on our own as opposed to being in a group home or at the Saskatchewan Hospital? If it is possible for us to live on our own, wouldn’t we want too?” she told councillors. “This is an opportunity for us to start this type of housing and if we are successful, and we are going to be successful, it opens up the door for more units like this down the road.”

Council unanimously approved the donation of land at 1922 Kramer Place.

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr