Eichs Fall/Winter 2013-14 Newsletter

The
Edmonton
Inner City
Housing
Society
The
Edmonton
Inner City
Housing
Society
Treasures Found & Dollars Raised!
First Annual ‘Rediscovered Treasures’
Yard Sale raises
over $2,000
W
All of the support that we received was awe-inspiring.
We received so many donations, it took our volunteers
more than three hours to display all of the items. In addition to selling the items, we had face painting for donations,
and a small table for pop, water and chip sales–both operated by our young volunteers and overseen by tenant
volunteers. We had fantastic weather, a beautiful sunny summer day and non-stop traffic to the sale. Thirty volunteers
worked the entire day, including 20 of our tenants and their families. A hot dog lunch was provided for the volunteers
and enjoyed by many. It was an incredible success, and everyone involved had fun! “I think that the day was great!
There were so many people there. It was a lot of fun and I would do it again!” says John, tenant and volunteer.
We would like to thank the following: the congregation of St. Alphonsus, members of Downtown Rotary and the other
community members that donated to the yard sale, The Press Gallery for its donation of hangers and use of clothes
racks, and all of our volunteers. It takes many
hands to make an event like this successful,
and we could not have done it without
everyone involved!
An extra special thank you goes to Linda Hall
who helped organize the donations from
Rotary, provided support and encouragement
leading up to and on the day of the yard sale,
and volunteered with other Rotary members.
Affordable Housing – The Key to Healthy Communities
82nd Street shows its colours
the edmonton inner city housing
society opens a new multi-family
development
20 tenants volunteer to help
make this event a success
hat an exciting summer! In August we held our
first annual yard sale at Homebase, our 17th
development located at 12223–97 Street. Donations
were gratefully received from members of Rotary, St.
Alphonsus Catholic Church, our tenants, and other
members of the surrounding community.
Fall/Winter 2013
W
hat look like four distinct
townhomes on the street front
are really 14 units of housing. 6 of the
units are for large families, and 8 units
are for individuals and small, onechild families.
With the larger units ‘stacked’ on
top of the smaller, our 82nd Street
Corner Homes is an excellent
example of increasing housing
density, while providing adequate
amenity space and parking on a
relatively small parcel of land in
the mature neighbourhood of
Parkdale-Cromdale.
Some features that add true quality
to the housing units include real
brick work and ‘HardiBoard siding’,
a concrete, fire-proof product.
Rear yard balconies and two large
common backyards for children
further add to the quality of this
‘family oriented project’.
The residential complex is two blocks
to major shopping and one block
to school. Conveniently, Edmonton
Transit stops right beside the
colourful development.
The Edmonton Inner City Housing
Society (EICHS) gratefully
acknowledges the financial
contribution of Alberta Municipal
Affairs and the Homeward Trust of
Edmonton. As well, our individual
donors contributed more than
$65,000 towards the construction of
these units.
“Affordable, appropriately sized rental
units for large families continues to
be a priority,” says Cam McDonald,
EICHS Executive Director.
“Too many large families are
scrunched into those neglected,
small walk-ups that line many of
the streets of some of our older
neighbourhoods.
“A two-parent family with five
children in a small one- or twobedroom apartment paying $1,100
per month is too much, but that is
what the market dictates currently,”
Cam adds.
“We wanted to build a project that
met the priorities in the Parkdale
Area Redevelopment Plan, and
the Edmonton 10-year plan to
end homelessness. I think we
have accomplished both with this
development. We have good quality
family housing, and we are meeting a
key need in our community.”
We're looking forward to another successful
yard sale in the summer of 2014!
If you are interested in becoming a
donor for the Edmonton Inner City
Housing Society, please contact us.
Your support changes lives forever.
Fall/Winter 2013
Great summer weather and optimal visibility on busy
97th Street ensured the success of EICHS's first ever
community yard sale.
Our new conveniently located family
housing complex on 82nd Street is an
excellent example of improving the
quality of housing stock in the inner city.
Kindness and Generosity Enable The Edmonton Inner City
Housing Society to Purchase 2 Duplexes
L
efore Maryan found the Edmonton
Inner City Housing Society (EICHS),
she and her family were living in a
two-bedroom unit in an unclean,
rough, expensive building.
We became very excited when we learned that
the price being offered was well below that of
market value, even though the duplexes were in
excellent condition.
They had no control over their heat
and found this very uncomfortable.
With only one bathroom for everyone,
no laundry within the building,
and only one small bedroom for all
three children, it was completely
inadequate for their family.
We could not turn away from such a generous
offer, and through the additional gifts from our
donors, and our current fundraising initiatives, we
have now added four additional family housing
units for low income families in the inner city.
As we intend on not carrying a mortgage, we can maintain low rents and ensure that the buildings remain in excellent
condition for years to come. Any future vacancies will be filled with low income families from our waiting list.
The Edmonton Inner City Housing Society
is looking forward to February 8th, 2014,
when we mark our 30th Anniversary with a
gala event featuring duelling pianists,
'Elton Jan and The Piano Matt'.
In Memoriam
The Staff and Board of The Edmonton Inner
City Housing Society were truly saddened
by the passing of Gerry Amerongen.
is published by the
Edmonton Inner City Housing
Society.
9430 - 111 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5G 0A4
Phone:780-423-1339
Fax:780-423-1166
Visit our website at
www.eichs.org
Printing: Black Cat Press
Fall/Winter 2013
New Family Truly Grateful for New Housing
B
ate last year, a family that has been a long-time
supporter and donor of The Edmonton Inner
City Housing Society (EICHS) called us and asked
if we would be interested in purchasing two
duplexes in the neighbourhood of McCauley.
Watch for our
NEW
Spring/Summer
Issue coming in
2014!
Units Spacious & Convenient
A devout Catholic, loving husband and
family man, he also served as a MLA, and
the Speaker of the Legislature under
Peter Lougheed.
Gerry’s commitment to social justice, as well
as his kind and generous actions, made him
a truly honourable person.
Over the years, both he and his family have made, and continue to make,
significant contributions to our organization. He will truly be missed.
Unfortunately, there are many
families that live in similar or even
worse conditions.
We had the great pleasure of
spending time with Maryan and her
oldest son, Hadi, at their home in our
21st Project–the 82nd Street Corner
Homes–where Maryan lives with her
husband, Mohammed, and their three
children, Hadi, Qadar and Nabil.
Large families often have a difficult
time finding adequate housing, and
Maryan’s family was no exception.
“We needed more room, it was
important that we move from that
other place,” she says.
“It is so big and clean! We like that
there isn’t any carpet, the tile looks
great and is easy to clean. That helps
a lot when you have young children.
The kitchen has lots of cabinets,
more than enough for us. It is such
an improvement over what we had
before.
“I watch as
people drive by.
They admire the
building because it
is so beautiful and
colourful.”
“We have a laundry room and,
with three young children, it is so
convenient to not have to travel to
a laundry mat with all three of them
and all their clothes,” she continues.
“I watch as people drive by. They
admire the building because it is so
beautiful and colourful.”
Hadi also talked about his favorite
part of his new home. “I like my
bedroom,” says the little three-yearold. It is the first time he has had his
own room and he loves to show it to
people. We were even invited up to
see it. His mom tells us that there is
enough room for Hadi's own car bed,
his favourite part.
When asked how she feels about
EICHS, Maryan replies, “We are
grateful that EICHS can help people
like us. They are so affordable. Trying
to raise a family living paycheque to
paycheque adds so much stress.
“Thank you EICHS! We hope EICHS
is around 100 years from now,
continuing to help those people
in need.”
In January, Maryan met Heather, the
Project Manager. “Heather is amazing,”
Maryan comments. “She is a good
listener, she has a good heart and is
really encouraging!”
Maryan loves the location of her new
home. “Everything is so close, and
with many children, this is important
to us. The daycare, and bus are so
nearby. When you have kids, you
don’t want to have to travel too far,”
says Maryan. Her face lights up when
we discuss their home.
Maryan and
her family are all
smiles now that
they call 82nd
Street ‘home’.
Fall/Winter 2013