With a goal to make the housing for Lower Kootenay Band members healthier, safer and more energy efficient, the Columbia Basin Trust is kicking in nearly $600,000 this year.
Funded through the First Nations Housing Sustainability Initiative, the upgrades to 17 housing units will be carried out in 2019.
“Affordable housing is a concern for many people in the Columbia Basin, including those in First Nations communities,” Aimee Ambrosone, CBT Director, Delivery of Benefits said last week. “We’re dedicated to helping communities increase or improve their stocks of affordable housing and are pleased this project will impact the lives of Lower Kootenay Band residents.”
Upgrades will include everything from spray foam insulation in attics to basement foundation repairs.
“Housing affects the health and well-being of all Lower Kootenay Band members,” said Debbie Edge-Partington, housing coordinator for the Lower Kootenay Band. “It goes to more than improving homes and making things safer—it also improves the quality of life for the families that live in these homes. I have had community members share how warm their house is now that the attic insulation is upgraded, or their heating bill is less than half the amount than last winter.”
The upgrades are being done through a partnership and over $585,000 in support from the Trust through its First Nations Housing Sustainability Initiative. The project is also receiving support from Indigenous Services Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Association, and FortisBC.
The Trust introduced its three-year, $4.5-million First Nations Housing Sustainability Initiative in 2017. It supports First Nations communities in the region to increase their stocks of affordable housing, increase their capacities to manage these assets, and complete repairs and energy retrofits. So far, the initiative has helped create 21 new affordable housing units and improve 74 existing units.