A new pilot project planned for Dryden, Ont. would improve quality of life for Indigenous mothers by providing them with education, employment training, and affordable housing, says the head of the Dryden Native Friendship Centre.
The project is still in the development phase, but if all goes according to plan, Sally Ledger believes the Aboriginal Homeward Bound Program could help lift families out of poverty, and become a model for other communities in the region.
The idea for the project comes from an existing program run by WoodGreen Community Services in Toronto which provides women and their children with stable housing, and other supports for a four year period.
The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres is now working with that organization, and Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, to adapt the program to serve the urban Indigenous population in several other communities in the province, including Dryden.
Building skills for success
Participants would receive many supports over the course of the program, including income support, child care, education and on-the-job training, said Ledger.
“So we’re hoping that after four years, when they’ve had stable housing, they’ve had life skill supports and academic upgrading that they will be able to succeed in their future,” she said.
“The house is just the stability to ensure that we can grow their skill set so that they become independent, and hopefully get them off of the support systems that are in place.”
Ledger said she hopes to begin the intake process for the first six participants next April.
Affordable housing in short supply
The program would also help to address a very real need for affordable housing in Dryden, said Don McBain, the executive director of Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services.
In 2012, OAHS created about 30 affordable housing units in Dryden, said McBain. It made a big difference, but “it doesn’t handle the need that is in the area at all,” he said.
The long-term goal for the Homeward Bound Program is to create 15 housing units, he said, but the current focus is on securing funding for the project.