Led by The Salvation Army Community and Family Services, local community organizations have come together to work alongside a local couple to help secure affordable rental housing at a time when housing is becoming more and more unaffordable in Northumberland County. The Salvation Army Community and Family Services, St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Northumberland County and Habitat for Humanity Northumberland have come together to renovate an apartment unit owned by St. Peter’s Anglican Church. After a month of renovations and hard work, the two new tenants, who helped to fix up the unit, proudly moved into their new space in Cobourg over the Labour Day long weekend.
At the beginning of the summer St. Peter’s Anglican Church reached out to the Cobourg office of the The Salvation Army Community and Family Services about a property that they were hoping to rent but required significant renovation. The Salvation Army agreed to locate future tenants to occupy the unit and help with the renovations. The Salvation Army also enlisted Steven Woodward, a volunteer, to oversee the renovation of the apartment. Both organizations approached Habitat for Humanity Northumberland who agreed to pay for the majority of the renovations through the ReNew It program. Over the month of August, 17 volunteers from Habitat for Humanity Northumberland, St Peter’s Anglican Church, St John’s Anglican Church, and The Salvation Army worked alongside the future tenants and contributed 400 hours to renovate the apartment located on College St. beside St. Peter’s Church.
“When we step back and look at an issue such as the need for affordable housing it can seem overwhelming. This project is a great example of what we can do to address some of the need,” says Captain Michael Simpson from The Salvation Army Cobourg Community Church. “It doesn’t need to be a brand new apartment complex but a solution can be renovating a small apartment that already exists. At the end of the day, that could mean a family now has somewhere safe to live.”
“We are truly proud to have the opportunity to work alongside community partners to make this happen,” said Meaghan Macdonald, Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity Northumberland. “This project was an example of how creative solutions can be used to help address the desperate need for affordable housing in our community.”
The need for affordable housing is high across Northumberland County. With a vacancy rate of less than 1% tenants in the Town of Cobourg are struggling to find a place to live, let alone a place that is affordable. This project has demonstrated that increasing access to affordable housing can involve many different solutions.
Attached Photo: Representatives and volunteers from The Salvation Army Community and Family Services, Habitat for Humanity Northumberland, Northumberland County, and St. Peter’s Anglican Church join one of the new tenants, Gerry, outside 264 College St.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
