Women and children leaving violence will now have access to 55 new safe and affordable homes, including supports, with the opening of My Sister's Place in Prince George.
My Sister's Place is a four-building development on 14th Avenue with 18 transition house beds, 16 units of second-stage housing and 21 affordable rental townhomes.
The transition and second-stage housing are in one stand-alone building, while the town homes are spread throughout the other three buildings.
My Sister’s Place was opened today with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony, tour, and performance by the UHNBC drummers.
“I want to thank and acknowledge everyone for having the faith to see the vision that we felt and we saw. Women here in the north and in this community, deserve to have that full continuum of housing when they need it the most. And that's what we will be providing care right from crisis right through to the long term,” said Kathi Heim, former executive director of Prince George Elizabeth Fry Society, who oversaw the project.
Both the transition and second-stage housing provide low barrier short-term accommodation with on-site supports for women leaving violence, including transgender women and non-binary and Two-Spirit people, and their dependent children.
Transition house guests normally stay for 30 days, while second-stage housing residents typically live in the units for six to 18 months before moving to more permanent housing.
The Prince George and District Elizabeth Fry Society will operate My Sister's Place, providing on-site support services, such as crisis intervention and safety planning, to both residents and other women and children leaving violence in the Prince George region.
The development will provide women and their children the opportunity to seamlessly move from the transition house beds into the second-stage units and affordable townhomes.
“This is an exciting time. It's an opportunity for us to really recognize the long-standing work that has been taking place in the city for years,” said Mayor Lyn Hall.
“That really is the focus of the city is supportive housing and it really provides various options for women to stabilize and for women and their children to have safety and stability.”
Rent for the second-stage housing and town homes will be calculated at 30 per cent of residents' income or the provincial shelter rate for those who are receiving income or disability assistance.
Transition houses provide an immediate safe space for women to start rebuilding their lives, with no rent requirement from guests.
Residents of My Sister’s Place are expected to move into the new spaces starting as early as next week.
The development is a partnership between the Province through BC Housing, the federal government through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the City of Prince George, and the Prince George and District Elizabeth Fry Society.
Since 2017, the Province has funded nearly 34,000 affordable homes that are either complete or underway for people in B.C., including more than 350 homes in Prince George.
