TRANSITION HOUSE FOR YOUNG ABORIGINAL WOMEN OPENS

ABBOTSFORD – Provincial and community partners gathered today to celebrate the official opening of the first development completed under the Province’s Aboriginal Housing Initiative, Spirit Bear Center, a 10-bed transition house in Abbotsford for young Aboriginal women in recovery from addictions.

“Spirit Bear Center will make a real difference for both the young Aboriginal women who will call it home and for our greater community of Abbotsford as a whole,” said Ed Fast, MP for Abbotsford. “It will give women new hope and provide them with safe supportive housing when they need it the most.”

“Spirit Bear Center is an example of the homes and support the Aboriginal Housing Initiative was developed to create,” said Minister responsible for Housing Rich Coleman. “This Center will offer housing, education, life skills and a stable future to young women living in the Fraser Valley.”

“The government is committed to creating solutions for Aboriginal housing needs,” said Michael de Jong, MLA for Abbotsford-Mount Lehman and Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation. “Spirit Bear Center will serve as a home, and a place of learning, where young women can develop their independence and concentrate on being part of a healthy community.”

The Province provided a $1.2-million capital grant to purchase and renovate the Spirit Bear Center as part of the Aboriginal Housing Initiative, which provides funding to develop affordable housing for Aboriginal people living off-reserve, and addresses a range of Aboriginal housing needs, including those for youth, women, elders, and people with alcohol and drug addictions.

In addition, one-time only funding of $350,000 from the Ministry of Children and Family Development will provide for start-up costs at the facility, including the purchase of furniture, equipment and fencing, as well as initial staff orientation and training. The ministry will also provide ongoing operational funding based on the number of clients referred to the facility.

“Spirit Bear Center will be a place of healing for young Aboriginal women,” said Tom Christensen, Minister of Children and Family Development. “The structure and support that the training and services provide will help residents during their recovery and for the rest of their lives.”

The development is one of the successful proponents of the Aboriginal Housing Initiative’s 2007 proposal call issued in consultation with the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA). Formed in B.C. in the mid-1990s, AHMA is the only Aboriginal social housing management agency in Canada.

“There is a broad range of housing needs in the Aboriginal community that must be addressed in a culturally appropriate manner,” said AHMA president Margaret Pfoh. “The Aboriginal Housing Initiative will help provide new resources to create safe, secure housing for well-deserving projects like Spirit Bear Center, helping provide our young Aboriginal women the necessary skills to build healthier lives.”

“The Spirit Bear Center fills a need for youth in recovery in our city, and will offer young women the opportunity to improve their lives,” said Abbotsford Mayor George Ferguson. “This Center will hopefully become a model that can be emulated by other organizations in the future.”

Spirit Bear Center Society is a non-profit organization that will operate and manage the house.

“Our society was formed to help young Aboriginal women break the cycle of addictions and abuse by providing an alternative to the streets,” said Lynn Ned, director and founder of the Spirit Bear Center Society. “Through the Spirit Bear Center, we will be meeting that goal by providing a stable, caring environment with support services that also incorporates the wisdom and healing of our Aboriginal traditions.”

Clients of the Spirit Bear Center will live in a home-like, supportive environment with education, employment and life-skills training, along with counselling and health services, for a period of up to one year. They must make a commitment to abstain from alcohol and drugs, and must demonstrate their willingness to work on building confidence, self-esteem and a spirit of independence to be able to transition into the community.

The Aboriginal Housing Initiative has allocated 292 housing units in 10 communities across the province. The units are being funded with $50.9 million in one-time funds through the Off-Reserve Aboriginal Housing Trust, which was transferred from the Government of Canada to the Province, and is designed to address the housing needs for Aboriginal people living off-reserve. The Province is working in consultation with AHMA to administer the trust. Budget 2008 increased the amount the Province invests in affordable housing and shelters to more than $380 million a year, more than three times as much as in 2001.

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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Laura Kohli BC Housing 604 439-8583 604 805-4960 (cell)	Lynn Ned Spirit Bear Center Society 604 864-0553

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