Brandon's Homes for the Homeless creates 'new start' for struggling families

A building project in Brandon has provided work experience for some and a new home for others.

The Homes for the Homeless project has created multiple opportunities for the community's most at-risk population, organizers say.

"A lot of individuals need opportunities.It's what they desperately need," said Glen Kruck, director of Westman Canadian Mental Health Association.

People with low incomes built four single-unit apartments and one family unit for other people in need of transitional housing.

"Not only did we provide low-income housing at the end, we also provided work training and employment for basically the same population," Kruk said.

• Youth homelessness in Brandon twice the national average, count finds
• Brandon homeless count to take place Wednesday

Homelessness continues to be an issue in the Manitoba city and the point-in-time homeless count in April showed the number was rising.

The count found 146 homeless people in Brandon, with 28 of them unsheltered and 118 sheltered, according to the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corp.

"When individuals are couch surfing you think, 'Well at least they are sheltered,' but many times those individuals are living in very dangerous situations which result in sexual abuse, rapes, a whole lot of things which are very dangerous," Kruk said.

Thirty-eight per cent of the surveyed respondents were under 30, nearly twice the national average for youth homelessness.

"Last year we served over 100 individuals, including 20 families, in our nine emergency homeless units," Kruk said. "So these transitional units allow those individuals to keep on moving from our emergency homeless units into more stable housing and then from that into permanent housing."

The family moving into the new apartment was left homeless after a young childwho was living with the family, died from infant death syndrome, Kruk said, adding they couldn't bear to return to their old apartment.

When they found out about the transitional housing, the mother was overwhelmed, Kruk said.

"She was very, very happy because she literally used those words that it was a new start for them because they desperately needed that," he said.

The family will be able to stay in the apartment for three years, giving them the time and stability to find a permanent home.

Kruk said 10 years ago, there weren't any units for homeless people in Brandon. With the recent addition, the project now has 65 housing units.