HOUSING ENDOWMENT FUND

The Province has provided over $2 million in Housing Endowment Fund (HEF) grants to 12 innovative projects that help meet the diverse housing needs of British Columbians.

Organization	City	Target Households	Endowment Fund Contribution	Description
British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)	Burnaby	Students, municipalities, housing industry	$850,000	Multi-faceted project, including design, development and construction, research, scholarships, and professional development pilot project
Vernon and District Community Land Trust Society	Vernon	Low-income individuals and families	$600,000	Multi-faceted partnership project to develop rental and affordable home ownership housing
Victoria Cool Aid Society and AIDS Vancouver Island	Victoria	Homeless and people at risk of homelessness	$205,000	Capital improvements, including seismic retrofit, elevator installation and interior upgrades for the ACCESS Health Centre, offering primary health care and social services to Victoria's most impoverished. ACCESS will provide many of the critical health supports that marginalized people need to maintain housing, and improve the health of those who remain homeless, enabling them to transition to more permanent forms of housing.
Ursus Homes	Langley	Wood industry, homebuilding industry	$105,000	Prototype of sustainable, energy-efficient home utilizing European- inspired closed panel wood frame system adapted to B.C. climate
Pacifica Housing Advisory Association	Victoria	Homeless accessing shelters	$87,890	This pilot project will lease existing privately owned storage space to provide homeless people with storage facilities. Once the success of the pilot project has been established, the program may be expanded to other communities across the province
Organization	City	Target Households	Endowment Fund Contribution	Description
Smart Growth BC	Province-wide	Local governments, housing industry	$50,000	The project aims to help local governments, particularly of small- and medium-sized communities, develop and implement housing strategies tailored to their market and needs, and to assist them in utilizing market tools for creating affordable housing. Tools may include infill or laneway housing, small lots and subsequent zoning, redevelopment projects and development cost charge exemptions.
Terra Housing Consultants	Province-wide	Co-op and moderate-income households	$40,000	Seminar and workshops in Vancouver and Victoria to explore municipal inclusionary housing policies, best practices and innovative redevelopment options with experts from Canada, UK and USA
Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia (CHF BC)	Province-wide	Manufactured Home Park Tenants	$33,225	This project, conducted by CHF BC, will study the feasibility of resident ownership of the land or pads for people living in manufactured homes. The study will review three tenure options, which will in turn be assessed with respect to the feasibility of creating a new manufactured home park or acquiring an existing park
Chilliwack Supportive Housing Society	Chilliwack	People with mental health issues	$33,000	Assist with acquisition of an apartment and recommended repairs
The Sheltair Group – Royal Canadian Legion	Province-wide		$26,400	A research project to assess the feasibility of redeveloping Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) sites for use as affordable housing. The RCL owns large, centrally-located lots with existing under-utilized buildings in many B.C. communities. These buildings are possible candidates for retro-fitting or redevelopment, both to better serve their organization and the needs of the community
City of Surrey	Surrey	Refugees	$25,208	Research report on the housing experiences of refugees in Surrey
Organization	City	Target Households	Endowment Fund Contribution	Description
Network of East Vancouver Community Organizations (NEVCO)	Lower Mainland	Homeless and people at risk of homelessness with mental illness and/or addiction issues	$15,000	Feasibility analysis of affordable housing in existing multi-family dwellings located in more affordable neighbourhoods to identify appropriate condominiums, prepare a business plan, and develop community support for a program that will focus on the potential of housing with mobile supports
		Total	$2,070,723

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Media contact:	Sam Rainboth BC Housing 604 439-4789

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