Rent assistance in BC housing plan.Subsidized sub·si·dize tr.v. sub·si·dized, sub·si·diz·ing, sub·si·diz·es 1. To assist or support with a subsidy. 2. To secure the assistance of by granting a subsidy. rents is a key part of the Housing Matters BC, a new housing strategy to provide access to affordable housing in British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography , announced the Minister responsible for housing Rich Coleman Rich Coleman is British Columbia's Minister of Forests and Range, and Minister responsible for Housing. He is the British Columbia Liberal Party MLA for the riding of Fort Langley-Aldergrove. Coleman was first elected to the British Columbia legislature in 1996. . It is an approach that has been tried before in BC and other provinces, with limited success. The province is providing $40 million annually towards a new Rental Assistance Program for working families with an annual income below $20,000. Eligible households will receive direct financial assistance that can be applied toward rental accommodations that best suit their needs. The level of assistance will depend on the household size, income and the amount of rent paid, similar to the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters Program, which assists nearly 15,000 seniors each month. The Rental Assistance Program, it is estimated, will help up to 15,000 British Columbian families. The new program also includes: * commitment to build subsidized rentals for an additional 450 units of new supportive housing Supportive housing is designed to support individuals, not just socially but with basic life skills. Housing is coupled with social services such as job training, alcohol and drug abuse programs and case management. under the Provincial Homelessness Initiative; * 550 new assisted living as·sist·ed living n. A living arrangement in which people with special needs, especially older people with disabilities, reside in a facility that provides help with everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing, and taking medication. units under the Independent Living BC program for seniors; * an expanded, provincewide, homeless outreach Outreach is an effort by an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. program that will help those living on the street gain access to government housing and income support; * transferring the management of 2,600 housing units to the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (Aboriginals make up about 30% of the homeless in Vancouver). Assisted rentals is a way of helping low income people to gain access to affordable housing. However, it comes up against the problems of housing supply. If the housing market is tight as it is in most BC cities, the program can have the unintended effect of raising rents. www.bchousing.org |
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