30 new supportive homes coming up in Surrey for young people aged 17-24 years

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The project will located at 13102 112A Ave in Surrey, B.C., and will feature 30 new homes with 24/7 support young people aged 17-24 years, many of whom will be transitioning from government care.

SURREY: The city of Surrey along with federal government has announced details of a $13.8 million federal allocation to support the creation of 30 new supportive homes for young people in Surrey through the Cities Stream under expanded Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI).

Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, along with Doug McCallum, Mayor of Surrey, made the announcement.

Bruce Ralston, MLA for Surrey-Whalley, announced that the B.C. government will support the new housing with annual operating funding. This funding will build off the provincial investments made in Surrey since 2017, which are supporting the construction of nearly 1,500 new homes for a range of people who are struggling to find a place to live.

The project will be operated by the Pacific Community Resource Society (PCRS), will be located at 13102 112A Ave in Surrey, B.C., and will feature 30 new homes with 24/7 support young people aged 17-24 years, many of whom will be transitioning from government care. All of the housing units will be allocated to vulnerable and homeless youth, with a further breakdown allocation of 25% Indigenous, 25% LGBTQ2+, 25% young women experiencing violence, and 25% newcomer youth. This project features modular construction and will be completed in winter 2022.

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for affordable housing and led to rising levels of homelessness. The Government of Canada created a national strategy to build hundreds of thousands of units and provide affordable housing to people across the country

This is in addition to the Government of Canada’s previous investment of $16.4 million through the Major Cities Stream of the first phase of the RHI to support the creation of up to 44 new affordable homes in Surrey. 

In its initial round, with funding of $1 billion announced in October 2020, the RHI exceeded its original target of 3,000 permanent affordable housing units and achieved 4,700 units nationally. Due to this success, an additional $1.5 billion for the RHI was recently announced to create 4,500 new units of permanent affordable housing across the country. Thanks to this expansion, this initiative will now create over 9,200 affordable homes for the most vulnerable Canadians across the country.

This new investment will create thousands of good jobs in the housing and construction sector, grow the middle class, and build back stronger communities, while getting us closer to our goal of eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada

“Today’s announcement will support young people in our community who need a safe and supportive home as they transition into adulthood. Surrey has the largest youth population in the province. This project will ensure that all our young people have the opportunity to thrive. It will deliver on the critical and urgent need for housing for vulnerable youth who are or at risk of being homelessness, including youth who are transitioning out of the government care system. Homelessness is an evolving challenge and real solutions can be found when all levels of government work together,” saidDoug McCallum, Mayor of Surrey.