Mayerthorpe approves report on housing priorities, helping housing grant applications
March 5, 2024
Housing
March 5, 2024
Housing
With the housing crisis continuing to be a concern across the country, Mayerthorpe town council approved a housing report during its regular meeting last week. The Enabling Housing Choice (EHC) project report is intended to define Mayerthorpe’s housing development priorities and assist with housing grant applications, according to council’s agenda package.
“This (report) was funded through the real estate association,” Karen St. Martin, Mayerthorpe’s acting chief administrative officer, told council.
In 2023, the town worked with the Rural Development Network (RDN) on the report, investigating how to attract housing development to Mayerthorpe. The non-profit RDN runs the Sustainable Housing Initiative to support housing development through the EHC project. The town stated at the time it was looking at “the barriers and roadblocks that developers currently face in Mayerthorpe.”
The research would involve consultations with the development industry and the report was expected to be completed in May 2023. However, according to council’s agenda package last week, the report’s completion was delayed until September 2023, and council failed to approve it until recently. During council’s Feb. 26 meeting, St. Martin told council that approving the report would allow it to be published online.
Coun. Becky Wells’ motion to approve the report was carried.
One of the issues the report touches on is housing diversity, having a variety of housing types available in Mayerthorpe. Interviews in town showed participants expressed a desire to meet the needs of “a variety of demographics,” and to have something available to people of various income levels. Participants also stressed a need in Mayerthorpe for more rental options, according to the report. The report states that Mayerthorpe has two apartment buildings, one with 12 units and the other with six.
“People in Mayerthorpe are buying single-detached housing and turning them into rental units due to the shortage of rental apartments,” one interviewee is quoted as saying. “New commercial investment is generating jobs, but rental accommodations are full.”
An interviewee commented that lack of rental accommodations in Mayerthorpe will cause people to seek housing in other communities, like Whitecourt. The report also states more housing for seniors in Mayerthorpe is “urgent.”
Mayerthorpe already has tax rebates for housing development, for three years; the report recommended extending incentives for five years or more. The report further recommends amending the Land Use Bylaw to cut down on the number of residential land use districts in Mayerthorpe, from the current seven. Having seven causes inflexibility on what can be built where, hindering housing diversity, the report states.
Another recommendation is to allow more residential development in commercial and industrial districts, allowing businesses to house workers. Existing vacant lots can also be repurposed for residential development, the report recommends.
The report notes Mayerthorpe has applied for the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to support development.
The Town of Mayerthorpe used the EHC project report to apply for HAF funds, according to council’s agenda package.
The Town of Whitecourt also applied to HAF in 2023; Whitecourt adopted its housing needs assessment in January 2024.
Participating service providers in Airdrie will provide paper copies to community members, and it will also be available online. Survey respondents will remain anonymous.
Airdrie’s first Homelessness Estimation Study is set to commence in March with a final report anticipated in the fall of 2024 that will include actions to tackle Airdrie specific issues.
“Homelessness can be understood as a spectrum in which people can experience being unsheltered, emergency sheltered, provisionally accommodated, and at-risk of homelessness,” said Emma Wallace, the study project manager from the Rural Development Network (RDN), during the March 4 Airdrie City Council meeting.
The key aims of the Homelessness Estimation Study are to help the City of Airdrie quantify homelessness in Airdrie, determine what service gaps exist and link to and inform the City’s work on Airdrie’s 2024-2030 Affordable Housing Principled Action Plan.
The survey will commence mid-March and run for 45 days until the end of April 2024.
Participating service providers in Airdrie will provide paper copies to community members, and it will also be available online. Survey respondents will remain anonymous.
The survey uses the federal government’s definition of homelessness which is described as “the situation of an individual, family or community without stable, safe, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it.”
Once the survey period is completed, the data will be analyzed and a final report will be completed in July. That report will be shared with council and Airdrie residents in the fall of 2024. Next steps will be taken in the winter of 2024 based on study results.
“We want to be able to use this data to help advocacy purposes in applying for funding to prevent and respond to homelessness, and most importantly looking to elevate and incorporate the voices of folks experiencing homelessness and solutions to end homelessness,” Wallace said.
The top factors leading to homelessness in Calgary, which is the closest city to Airdrie with data on homelessness, included low incomes, lack of affordable housing, conflicts with a spouse, conflicts with landlords, or substance use issues.
Based on the 2022 National Point in Time Count, there were 6,649 Albertans experiencing homelessness across the seven major cities. Wallace said there is no homelessness data in Airdrie.
A study of 45 communities across Alberta in 2023 showed that 69 per cent of homeless respondents were employed in some capacity, which means sometimes having a job is not enough.
“In reality, people experiencing homelessness are much more likely to have experienced violence or be a victim of crime than be the ones committing the crime,” Wallace said. “This is a common misconception because people experiencing homelessness do often interact with the criminal justice system, but this is as a result of activities required for daily survival, which are criminalized, for example going to the bathroom in public, loitering, or trespassing.”
Wallace added that someone does not have to be sleeping outside or “sleeping rough” to be experiencing homelessness. Homeless individuals often avoid the streets or emergency shelters in fear of their safety and will couch surf or stay in unsafe or inadequate housing.
Coun. Al Jones pointed out that some homeless individuals may not have access to the online survey, to which Wallace said local service agencies like the library, Airdrie’s Genesis Place, a victim support centre, and the local food bank would be providing paper copies. RDN will also work with the City to determine any areas in the City they could visit to distribute paper copies of the survey.
Wallace said it’s important to have up to date information about the City’s homelessness situation in order to apply for funding for things like affordable housing, which is also a requirement for builders.
RDN is currently working with local service agencies to translate the survey based on the needs of their clientele.
Homelessness in rural areas is on the rise and many communities are facing the challenge of supporting community members in need with limited resources and funds. “A lot of people think homelessness only exists in urban centers but recent research from Dr. Rebecca Schiff provides evidence that rural homelessness is not only prevalent, but in fact occurring at per capita rates that are greater than some urban centres,” explains Sydney Stenekes, Director of Homelessness Initiatives at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
This is where Reaching Home funding comes in to benefit communities. Often, rural communities need to develop new programs, shelters, and food bank services to support those in need – but have limited access to the funding needed.
“People who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness shouldn’t have to leave their home community to access support in urban centers. We believe in developing and investing in housing and services in smaller communities so folks don’t have to leave their communities and social networks to access supports and appropriate housing,” declares Sydney.
What is Reaching Home funding?
“The Reaching Home project is part of the Federal Government’s Homelessness Strategy that distributes funding to rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Alberta, aimed at reducing and preventing homelessness across Canada,” Sydney explained.
The Reaching Home funding gets distributed to Alberta’s rural areas outside the seven major cities to support homelessness prevention and reduction. The Rural Development Network has been distributing funding for over 10 years to local organizations, municipalities, FCSS’s, Indigenous organizations, First Nations, and Métis communities across rural and remote Alberta.
How does the application process work?
The Reaching Home project strives to simplify the otherwise overwhelming process of applying for funds by making it as flexible as possible to suit and address the community’s needs.
According to Sydney, funds have supported innovative community driven solutions ranging from short-term immediate support to longer-term housing projects. As part of our organization’s commitment to reconciliation, the Reaching Home team has also been focusing on ways to ensure the application is more accessible to Indigenous communities and organizations.
Working alongside RDN’s Indigenous Liaison, Emele Neufeld and informed by feedback gathered from Indigenous partners and projects, the Reaching Home team revised the application process in 2022. The goal was to reduce barriers for Indigenous communities interested in applying for and accessing Reaching Home funding through offering culturally appropriate application and reporting methods and respecting Indigenous peoples’ oral traditions.” Recognizing that this is an important first step, the team acknowledges there is more work to be done and is committed to working towards decolonizing their approach to administering funding.
After applications have been submitted by rural, remote and Indigenous communities and organizations in Alberta, Sydney and her team present projects to the Regional Advisory Board, who are responsible for making decisions related to the funding.
“There are currently nine members on the board representing various rural, remote and Indigenous communities and positions in the housing & homelessness sector who bring their expertise to the table and are tasked with the difficult decisions on which projects receive funding,” Sydney explained.
Sydney also reiterated that even if a community is not successful with their application, her team’s intentions are to provide feedback to assist with future applications and offer to work with the community to support them with coordinating responses to homelessness, accessing alternative funding and connecting them to relevant resources. Recognizing that homelessness is a shared responsibility, Sydney and her team are consistently advocating for increased funding at various government levels to support the growing need to respond to rural homelessness.
Top 5 types of projects Reaching Home has funded to date
The Reaching Home team encourages applicants to be as creative as needed to address homelessness in their community. So far the top five projects that have been funded include the following:
Project Outcomes
In 2022-2023, Reaching Home Supported
Applications are now open for 2024-2026!
All eligible organizations and initiatives are invited and encouraged to apply for funding: Apply today! Have questions or not sure how to get started? Reach out directly to Sydney Stenekes.
ALBERTA – January 22, 2023 — On behalf of the Rural Development Network (RDN), the Sustainable Housing Initiative (SHI) is excited to announce that we have completed the 2nd Phase of the Enabling Housing Choice project, which provided recommendations for increasing housing choice in six Alberta communities.
SHI is working to support housing development that is diverse and more affordable through its Enabling Housing Choice Project. This project was made possible through funding and support from the Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF).
The purpose of this 2nd Phase has been to provide recommendation reports that promote housing choice and diversity in the Towns of Bow Island, Trochu, Mayerthorpe, Claresholm, and Pincher Creek, as well as the City of Airdrie. These reports have been informed by extensive research and community engagement, to better understand how the recommended changes can best address each community’s diverse housing needs.
“The Enabling Housing Choice is responding to the national housing crisis by working alongside municipalities in developing and implementing transformational policy change” says Linda Bernicki, Director of Community Development and Indigenous Engagement at RDN. “We are very excited to have completed the second phase of this project with these communities, and to help address the housing shortage in the community through transformational policy change.”
“This timely project seeks to find solutions to the housing crises being faced by municipalities across our province. As a foundation with real estate roots, we have the responsibility to explore how our funding programs can strengthen the real estate industry and can support consumers, whether as renters or homebuyers”, says Patti Morris, Executive Director of the Alberta Real Estate Foundation. “We are honoured to invest in this effort to support diverse, sustainable, and equitable housing development in Albertan communities.”
Next Steps For the Enabling Housing Choice Project:
For further information about the Enabling Housing Choice Project, please visit: https://www.housingredefined.ca/enabling-housing-choice-project
For more information, please contact:
MEDIA CONTACTS
Linda Bernicki
Director of Community Development and Indigenous Engagement
lindab@ruraldevelopment.ca
Holly Udall
Marketing & Communications Manager
ABOUT THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK
RDN is a not-for-profit organization that facilitates, supports, and champions rural community development through collaboration, research, and service provision. RDN supports the sustainability of rural communities and works with communities to amplify the “rural voice”. RDN collaborates to identify and bring focus to rural issues, build local capacity, and find innovative, rural-based solutions to unique issues.
To learn more about RDN, visit www.ruraldevelopment.ca.
ABOUT THE SUSTAINABLE HOUSING INITIATIVE
In 2015, RDN created the Sustainable Housing Initiative (SHI) in direct response to rural communities expressing their need for support in addressing the critical lack of affordable housing. This issue has not received the same attention and resources as it has in urban centres, and comes with unique challenges requiring unique solutions. The SHI conducts research, data analysis, produces housing needs assessments, business plans, financial analyses and more. This lays the groundwork necessary for projects to access funding from governments, banks, and other sources, which is often the biggest hurdle to overcome.
To learn more about SHI, visit www.housingredefined.ca.
ABOUT THE ALBERTA REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION
The Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF) was established in 1991 to advance the real estate industry and strengthen Alberta’s communities. Created under the Real Estate Act after years of discussion between industry leaders and officials in the provincial government, the Foundation started making an impact right away by funding initiatives to help educate and train real estate professionals. AREF invests in real estate policy, research, practices, and education that strengthen Alberta’s communities.
To learn more about AREF, visit https://aref.ab.ca/.
Edmonton, Alberta – January 10, 2024 – The federal government has announced additional funding that will allow the Rural Development Network (RDN) to distribute approximately $4 million over the next two years to Alberta’s rural, remote, First Nation, and Métis Settlement communities through the Reaching Home Rural and Remote funding stream.
As the Community Entity for the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home Rural and Remote funding stream in Alberta, the Rural Development Network is currently accepting applications through a Call for Proposals to fund projects that aim to prevent or reduce homelessness in their communities. Alberta’s rural, remote, First Nations, and Métis Settlement communities and organizations are eligible to apply for funding to conduct projects in 2024-2025 and 2025-2026. Projects may start as early as April 1, 2024 and end as late as March 31, 2026.
“Investing in these local solutions supports community-led projects that help those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. We will continue working with the Rural Development Network to support those most in need in rural, remote and Indigenous communities across Alberta,“ says the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities.
The additional $4 million in funding will be distributed to communities and organizations that aim to reduce or prevent homelessness outside of the 7 major cities in Alberta.
“As homelessness and housing insecurity continues to be on the rise in rural, remote and Indigenous communities in Alberta, it is increasingly important to support innovative and locally driven community responses to homelessness,” says Sydney Stenekes, RDN’s Director of Homelessness Initiatives. “We welcome the additional Reaching Home funding from the federal government and hope to support a diverse range of projects across the province, supporting both immediate needs and longer term solutions through this Call for Proposals.”
Eligible communities and organizations can apply through the online application form before February 9, 2024, 11:59PM MST. To reduce barriers for First Nation and Métis Settlement communities who are interested in applying for funding, the Rural Development Network has developed an alternative application process under the guidance and feedback of Indigenous partners; Indigenous communities or organizations may submit a letter of intent through the online application form in lieu of a general application. Selected applicants will then be invited to partake in an oral application process.
For more information about the 2024-2026 Reaching Home Call for Proposal, or to apply for funding, visit the Rural Development Network’s website.
This program is funded by the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.
For more information, please contact:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sydney Stenekes
Director, Homelessness Initiatives
1-613-986-5207
programs@ruraldevelopment.ca
ABOUT THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORK
The Rural Development Network is a not-for-profit that facilitates, supports, and champions rural community development through collaboration, research, and service provision. RDN supports the sustainability of rural communities and works with communities to amplify the “rural voice”. RDN collaborates to identify and bring focus to rural issues, build local capacity, and find innovative, rural-based solutions to unique issues.
ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA’S REACHING HOME FUNDING
Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. This program provides funding to urban, Indigenous, rural and remote communities to help them address their local homelessness needs.
Reaching Home supports the goals of the National Housing Strategy, in particular, to support the most vulnerable Canadians in maintaining safe, stable and affordable housing and to reduce chronic homelessness nationally by 50% by fiscal year 2027 to 2028.
It is no surprise that with the skyrocketing cost of living and the beginnings of a national housing crisis, homelessness has become a major problem across Canada. Homelessness is very visible in urban areas as it is common to see individuals sleeping in the streets, which is easier to identify than rural homelessness. Rural homelessness is more often concealed and can present itself as individuals couch-surfing or living in inadequate housing. It is more hidden and harder to casually recognize, which is why a professional homelessness estimation is necessary.
Even while employed, the increase in interest rates and utility costs makes it very difficult to own a home and even worse to rent. With various contributing factors to homelessness, having a roof over your head now seems like a luxury not many can afford.
“Based on the data from the provincial project, 69% of housing insecure respondents are employed. One of the common assumptions made of folks experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness is that they should get a job. When the reality is that we’re in a cost of living crisis, we are in a housing crisis and the data clearly shows that having a job simply isn’t enough anymore,” says Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
Given the complexities surrounding homelessness in rural areas and the varying ways it impacts communities, working with RDN to estimate homelessness in your community is a great way to get started.
The Rural Development Network’s Homelessness Estimations Project helps support rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Canada by measuring homelessness effectively.
When a community approaches RDN with concerns about homelessness, Emma and her team walk them through developing a survey, followed by identifying community organizations that can distribute and promote it. After 30 days, RDN will collect the surveys and analyze them to draft a final community report.
This whole process is a community effort that involves service providers, municipal governments, and folks experiencing homelessness. This methodology is based on the Step-by-Step Guide to Estimating Rural Homelessness.
“We developed the Step-by-Step Guide to estimating rural, remote and Indigenous homelessness in 2017 and it is the methodology that we use to support communities in understanding homelessness in their area and that came out of a need identified by rural communities,” says Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
Finally, based on an analysis of all the data collected and presented in the report, RDN develops a set of opportunities the community can undertake to address housing insecurity moving forward
A Homelessness Estimation has proven to be effective for communities struggling with resources and accurately identifying how many people are experiencing homelessness.
For example, a final estimations report contains valuable information for communities such as:
“Homelessness tends to present itself differently in rural areas. So in urban centers, it’s quite easy to just walk down a street and see folks who are unsheltered but in rural communities, we see a lot more people who are couch surfing, living in inadequate housing, and just experiencing really different types of homelessness,” Emma expressed.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
An estimation additionally helps give an accurate or representative portrayal of what people in the community are currently struggling with or experiencing in terms of housing insecurity.
“The estimation process provides folks experiencing homelessness with an opportunity to share their thoughts, insights, reflections and experiences that will ultimately influence the way a community addresses homelessness in the future,” adds Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
By including community members impacted by homelessness in the estimation, communities get an in-depth first-view perspective that is crucial in understanding the problem.
Many communities face challenges with providing evidence to support their applications for funding to support complex social issues. However, with the findings from a Homelessness Estimation report, communities can confidently apply for funding to begin developing solutions to address homelessness and housing insecurity. In other words, a Homelessness Estimation report can act as an evidence-based advocacy tool for communities.
For example, after Conklin, Alberta received a Homelessness Estimations report in 2018, Cenova created a 5-year $50 million project to address homelessness in their community. And, Drayton Valley used the data collected in their 2020 estimation report to secure funding for emergency shelter pods for those experiencing homelessness to find safe and warm refuge.
“I think one of the main values for communities in conducting an estimation is getting that big comprehensive picture of what homelessness looks like in their area – the who, why, and how many. Because of that communities can prove that homelessness exists in their area. They can access funding and start to develop solutions to address housing insecurity and homelessness in the community,” explains Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
By conducting an estimation, the final report can help communities identify what services are needed. These reports provide a data-driven foundation that highlights the necessary measures to be taken to support those who are housing insecure. As a result, communities can start to compare the existing services to what’s needed to identify and bridge the gaps in the services available.
For example, based on their estimations report, the Soaring Eagle Support Society in White Court was able to advocate to transition a motel into an emergency and transitional shelter for community members. And, Peace River opened their first emergency shelter based on the needs identified through their homelessness estimation.
“Communities also use these estimations to raise awareness within their communities about homelessness in their areas given its more hidden nature. So on a smaller scale, communities can improve on current programming. We also see a lot of collaborations between service providers coming out of an estimation project… Overall, I think we can say that meaningful and relevant data on rural, remote, and Indigenous homelessness is instrumental in supporting communities to address their needs,” says Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
Some communities have started to express interest in a community action plan which details step-by-step how a community can undertake some of the recommended opportunities provided in the final estimation report. This is the next step for the RDN team to continue to support communities and one that Emma’s team is already working on.
“In an estimations report, we will have a section typically where we highlight some opportunities that a community can undertake to address housing insecurity in their area moving forward based on the data in the report. But they don’t necessarily outline to a community, how they can actually action that…This is why we’ve started exploring with communities, who are interested and have the capacity to undertake this type of project,” explains Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
A community action plan would outline who needs to be involved including key partners, timelines, steps required to carry out the recommendations, and why it’s important to implement the recommendations. By receiving a community action plan, communities become better informed and equipped on what necessary next steps they need to take to address homelessness and support their housing insecure community members.
Reach out to Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations, at emmaw@ruraldevelopment.ca for more information!
ALBERTA – Oct. 3, 2023 – Earlier in 2023, the Rural Development Network (RDN) partnered with 21 communities across the province to capture a comprehensive picture of rural, remote, and Indigenous homelessness. The results indicated that women, 2SLGBTQIA+, and Indigenous people are disproportionately at risk of being or currently experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness across rural Alberta.
The data collected in March 2023 identified 2,429 survey respondents as housing insecure according to the national definitions of homelessness. Additionally, the 2,429 housing insecure survey respondents reported sharing housing insecure living conditions with 2,354 dependents and 2,537 adults. That is, based on survey results, at least 7,320 community members are experiencing housing insecurity in the 21 participating rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across the province.
More specifically, RDN discovered that:
“The data coming out of the 2023 provincial estimation are highlighting some very concerning trends – data indicates that vulnerable or minority population groups are at much higher risk for housing insecurity in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities,” says Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at RDN.
Based on the survey results, the top three reasons for housing insecurity across participating rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Alberta are:
The data also suggests that despite an employment rate of 64% among housing insecure respondents, 49% reported an annual household income of $49,999 or less in 2022. This, combined with the fact that according to the Economic Research Institute (2023), the cost of living is an average of 6% higher than the national average across all 21 communities and an average of 4% higher than the provincial average in Alberta across all participating communities, speaks to the main reported reason for housing insecurity among respondents: low wages. In other words, without adequate wages to match their communities’ cost of living, housing insecure respondents will continue to struggle with housing insecurity.
Survey respondents further indicated that increased availability of affordable housing, public transportation, and services would help improve housing insecure respondents’ housing situations.
“Our goal at RDN is to support rural, remote, and Indigenous communities to identify and bring focus to rural issues, including housing insecurity. Data collected in each participating community should allow them to better address housing insecurity locally and, when combined to reflect the provincial picture, will allow for improved provincial and federal decision-making and funding allocations to address rural, remote, and Indigenous homelessness,” says Wallace.
This is the third provincial estimation project that RDN has conducted with rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Alberta, with two other estimations conducted in 2018 and 2020 respectively. More information about these results can be found on the Rural Development Network website.
“The data provided by the Rural Development Network (RDN) in the 2023 Alberta Housing and Services Needs Estimation will help us make targeted decisions to address housing insecurities and other aspects of homelessness in Alberta. We will continue to work with partners to help create safe, stable, and affordable housing throughout Alberta and across Canada,” says The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages.
To learn more about the 2023 project, check out the 2023 Alberta Provincial Housing and Service Needs report.
This project was funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.
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For more information, please contact:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Adrienne Vansevenandt
Marketing & Communications Manager
We wanted to share the news of Dee Ann Benard’s departure from her position as Chief Executive Officer at RDN. We previously shared this news in our newsletter and more recently at our Annual General Meeting.
After almost fifteen years with RDN, Dee Ann has decided to embark on a new and exciting opportunity. Her last day in her role at RDN was September 30, 2023, prior to starting her new role as Director of the Botanical Gardens at the University of British Columbia.
Dee Ann’s journey with RDN has been marked by remarkable achievements, starting from its inception in 2009 up until today. Her visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to our organization’s mission have been truly exceptional. Throughout her tenure, Dee Ann has exemplified the values of integrity, dedication, and innovation that have guided RDN in its work, and her strategic vision and tireless endeavours have shaped the organization. Her presence will be greatly missed.
Please join us in extending our best wishes to Dee Ann as she embraces this new chapter in her life. We wish her all the success in her future endeavours!
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Lisa Belanger as Interim CEO, effective October 1, 2023, as we work towards filling this role. Lisa is our Director of Operations and has been with RDN for nearly 6 years. Her in-depth knowledge of RDN’s programs and team ensures the organization will continue to run smoothly. We’d like to congratulate Lisa on the interim appointment and extend our appreciation for all that she brings to RDN as she takes on this new role.
Sincerely,
Kevin Shufflebotham, RDN Board Chair
More about Lisa Belanger
As Director of Operations, Lisa helps manage the RDN team in delivering its projects, capacity-building work, events, and more for rural communities. She develops processes and strategies for effective community-focused operations, organizational growth, financial resilience, and continued progress toward RDN’s goals. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, focusing on Strategic Management and Operations with a minor in Business Economics and Law. Lisa has completed various additional training including Finance for Non-Finance Leaders, Project Management courses, Facilitation Skills, and Communication Strategies. Since 2017, she’s grown her skillset with RDN and strives to ensure that our team has what it needs to consistently and effectively deliver its work and continue to learn.
In her free time, she enjoys being out in the wilderness while hiking, rock climbing, dirt biking, snowboarding, or any other form of adventure. She’s thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from the border of Mexico to Canada over 4.5 months and completed a 100-mile ultramarathon. In 2022 she was elected to join the Board of Directors of the Great Divide Trail Association to contribute her skillset and passion to their work.
Whether working on issues that affect rural Canada or pushing her limits in the outdoors, Lisa brings a high level of organization, energy and skill to everything she does.
The Rural Development Network’s Rural Roots program has thrived in its second year, leaving a lasting impact on rural communities across Canada. With a focus on empowering post-secondary students and rural employers, the program has achieved impressive milestones and overcome challenges through creativity and collaboration. In this blog, we explore the highlights from the past year such as our achievements, the lessons we’ve learned, and our plans for the future.
Building off a successful pilot initiative, Rural Roots’ second year was one of tremendous growth and impact. According to Daniela Seiferling, Rural Roots’ Program Manager, “It was a year of learning, improving, and thinking of how we could better deliver the program and make this a sustainable initiative.” Targets included facilitating 1,000 Work Integrated Learning (WIL) placements across Canada, engaging 2,000 employers, and hosting a year-end showcase.
“By incorporating valuable feedback from stakeholders, the program successfully expanded its outreach and matched an additional 250 students compared to Year 1. We also expanded the number of post-secondary institutions (PSIs) and programs we were working with to increase the breadth of opportunities we were offering students,” says Daniela, reflecting on the substantial growth in placements and opportunities.
Daniela Seiferling, Rural Roots’ Program Manager
Rural Roots closely monitored our program data to identify trends around career pathways and in-demand skills. The demand for WIL placements among students was diverse, but some roles proved to be particularly sought after. Non-profit branding, graphic design, marketing, and communications were consistently in high demand from both employers and students. Additionally, students displayed a keen interest in data analysis, business consulting, and supporting social enterprises, indicating their desire to contribute research expertise to small businesses and support sustainable economic development.
By implementing targeted communication campaigns, launching a new matching platform, and creating a WIL microsite, Rural Roots made significant strides in connecting with employers, students, and PSIs, both organically and through established networks. Notably, the program witnessed a surge in engagement from Indigenous-led organizations, economic development entities, and innovation hubs, underscoring the program’s ability to resonate with a diverse range of stakeholders.
“This program can help employers and organizations, like Alberta HUB, maintain operations and assist in developing a strategy to meet our mandates,” says Bob Bezpalko, the Executive Director of Alberta HUB, who has engaged over 20 students through the Rural Roots program.
Bob Bezpalko, the Executive Director of Alberta HUB
Rural Roots’ second year underwent a varying set of challenges, including economic downturns and impacts from provincial election(s). However, the program demonstrated resilience by adapting and innovating to overcome these hurdles and support employers with building their internal capacity to recruit and engage students.
Daniela explains, “We helped employers pivot from traditional WIL to innovative WIL (e.g., course-based projects) and scale their expectations or deliverables accordingly. We also supported employers with little to no HR capacity with screening applications and interviewing potential candidates.”
Daniela Seiferling, Rural Roots’ Program Manager
Our efforts to support employers throughout the WIL process have fostered strong bonds between Rural Roots and between rural communities. As Daniela Seiferling emphasizes, “Our team does a lot of pre-work with employers. We’re meeting with organizations to understand where they have current gaps in capacity and helping them frame their project in a way that meets their needs, both financially and capacity-wise, to ensure they have achievable outcomes.”
Our support has helped address an increased demand for WIL and has also fostered new connections and new opportunities in rural communities.
“Because of RDN [and the support of the Rural Roots team] we have been able to reach out to other post-secondary institutions with this common connection so working with RDN has been a catalyst for opportunities,” says Medicine Hat College.
Medicine Hat College
As Rural Roots continues to grow, we plan to develop more resources supporting PSIs in delivering WIL opportunities. We will also aim to advocate for rural and remote employers and institutions at provincial and national levels, fostering unique partnerships, innovative programs, and collaborative funding.
Through Rural Roots’ unwavering commitment to excellence and meaningful impact, the program has garnered increasing recognition within the work-integrated learning space. “More people are aware of the program and want to partner or work with us on various projects,” Daniela remarks, highlighting the program’s rising prominence as a key player in the WIL landscape.
The program’s reputation as a trusted partner for post-secondary institutions and rural and remote employers earned accolades from larger organizations interested in the WIL landscape.
“[RDN provides] access to rural networks, [giving] our students access to see what’s going on in rural and smaller communities that need help,” says MacEwan University.
MacEwan University
As more people learn about the program and what it has to offer, the Rural Roots team now has employers actively reaching out to them to explore collaboration opportunities. This organic growth stands as a testament to the program’s profound impact and evolving influence within the educational and rural development sectors.
And Rural Roots wouldn’t be a rising star without the funding and support from one of its partners, the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER). Through collaborative efforts and regular meetings, BHER and Rural Roots have worked together to achieve shared goals and objectives, while BHER has also championed the program, connecting it with new partners and supporting its expansion.
Daniela says “BHER’s commitment to promoting WIL and creating opportunities for students has enabled Rural Roots to adapt and grow its program, addressing challenges and staying ahead of emerging trends.”
Daniela Seiferling, Rural Roots’ Program Manager
With this growing recognition comes growing responsibilities and expectations from stakeholders. The program is currently working on a project that identifies best practices and approaches around WIL in rural and remote spaces. The research will inform the creation of a white paper and toolkit that will aim to build capacity for its smaller PSI partners who are looking to Rural Roots for innovative solutions. By providing support to our PSI partners, we hope to further strengthen existing partnerships, attract new partners, and strengthen the WIL ecosystem in Canada.
Heading into its third year, Rural Roots aspires to scale its existing program by:
With Daniela Seiferling’s guidance, a committed WIL team, and BHER’s support, Rural Roots is set to continue its journey of providing transformative experiences for students, rural and small-scale employers, and PSIs across Canada.
RDNs Rural Roots program allows students to gain much-needed experience to transition to their future careers and allows employers to boost their capacity while generating projects that have tangible results. Through meaningful engagement in our program, we aim to raise awareness of the benefits of working, living, and supporting rural communities.
The Qalipu First Nation is trying to improve its housing strategy by getting more information from the people who need it most.
Members of the Qalipu Nation have been travelling across western Newfoundland with the Rural Development Network, a non-profit organization from Alberta that aims to support and amplify voices in Canada’s Indigenous communities.
Qalipu is one of six First Nations the network is partnering with to create what it’s calling the First Nation Housing Data Collection Tool, which health and wellness director Mitch Blanchard says will help them better understand where programs and resources should be developed.
“We want to make sure that we have the voices of our community members heard … and make sure that programs and services, you know, is targeting and meeting the community’s needs,” Blanchard said Tuesday. “This is their voices, their stories, which is a different approach from other researches that we’ve done in the past.”
Taylor Sparklingeyes, the data collection project manager, said initial responses have gone over quite well. More than 50 people have already shared their stories, she said, with affordability and a connection to cultural lands emerging as themes.
“”It’s definitely very different perspectives from the different communities so far that we’ve engaged with. It’s very interesting to hear what different struggles they have in different locations across Newfoundland,” she said”It’s definitely very different perspectives from the different communities so far that we’ve engaged with. It’s very interesting to hear what different struggles they have in different locations across Newfoundland,” she said. “There’s really nowhere for members to go connect and be one with nature, which you know, that in itself is a form of homelessness. That loss of connection to our culture and our traditional ways of living.”
Taylor Sparklingeyes
Sparklingeyes said the goal of the data tool is for gather grassroots information that can be handed off to First Nations like the Qalipu to give them the power to make their own decisions on policy and programs. “There are so many different forms of homelessness that First Nations people experience that are often overlooked by, you know, these Western constructs of how the Canadian government defines homelessness,” she said.
“Really understanding it from a culturally appropriate lens will amplify and provide accurate data around … how some of our people are living.”
The final session wrapped up in Stephenville on Tuesday, and data collection in other regions will continue in the fall.
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