A housing development to serve the city's Indigenous community is getting underway with $7.5 million in funding to provide homes for 30 families, 16 of which will be dedicated specifically to Indigenous women and their children.
The project, located at 27-31 Cambridge St., will be managed by KW Urban Native Wigwam Project with $3 million in funding from the Region of Waterloo's Equity Investment Fund and $4.5 million from the federal government's Rapid Housing Initiative through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC).
Federal Minister of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion Ahmed Hussen joined Cambridge MP Bryan May and other local leaders to make the announcement virtually Thursday morning.
The region's Equity Investment Fund "is part of Regional Council’s vision for an inclusive community where everybody can thrive," reads a press release on the funding announcement.
"The fund aims to improve the economic, social, and cultural health and well-being of Indigenous, Black, racialized, and marginalized groups who experience discrimination and exclusion."
“This new funding will be absolutely pivotal for K-W Urban Native Wigwam Project and for the Indigenous community. We are super excited," said executive director of the KW Urban Native Wigwam Project, Lee Ann Hundt in the release.
"This will be a game changer for us and something that will make the lives of many people in this community so much better."
Hundt said the project is a first of its kind in the organization's 30-year history of providing housing for Indigenous people in Waterloo region, allowing them to open up applications for one-bedroom units for the first time to house everyone from students and elders to singles and couples.
It's also the first time the organization has been part of a project in Cambridge.
"This will be a tremendous move for us. We will have a presence in the City of Cambridge that has been needed for a very long time,” she said.
The initiative is part of the region’s affordable housing plan, Building Better Futures: 2,500 Homes in 5 Years, which aspires to increase the average number of affordable homes created each year from 50 to 500.
The project also follows the region's efforts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action "to close the gaps and outcomes for Indigenous peoples and recognize the role of Indigenous communities and organizations in effecting positive change."
“It’s projects like the KW Urban Native Wigwam in Cambridge that exemplify our vision and put both our Equity Investment Fund and affordable housing plan into action,” said Regional Chair Karen Redman in the release.
“These units are more than a roof over someone’s head, they offer a place to heal, grow and learn," adds Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry.
"In this case, many of those people will be women and children. This investment is very much needed in both Cambridge and Waterloo Region and we thank our government partners for contributing to our community’s well-being. We all must work together to end chronic homelessness and these units are one piece of that puzzle.”
The Cambridge project isn't the only local project getting a boost from CMHC funding.
OneROOF, located at 35 Sheldon Ave. N. in Kitchener, is building an estimated 44 new units for youth that will result in "a significant reduction of chronic youth homelessness in Waterloo Region," said the release.
