homeEd Helping for Over 40 Years

We all know that it takes a community to end homelessness. One person, agency or government body cannot take on this task by themselves. HomewardTrust works with several partners in trying to get to the finish line, one of the many agencies in this goal is an organization simply known as homeEd.

They are one of the only affordable housing landlords in the city with vacancies, which is remarkable considering there are current wait lists with thousands of names on them.

Amazing work done with a small but caring staff.

Established by the City of Edmonton in 1977, homeEd has been providing affordable rental housing to the low to middle income bracket, focusing on those making less than the median income. Properties include everything from studio apartments all the way up to three-bedroom town homes that are located throughout the city offering a roof overhead to those that could not otherwise afford one.

Shelley, a tenant in one of the organization’s 19 properties, says, “It helped me a lot. I wouldn’t have been able to pay full rent. HomeEd was a huge blessing to me in that way and still is.”

homeEd also makes a difference by their participation in the Housing Support program operated through HomewardTrust.

The Executive Director of homeEd, Jim Fowler, says that while the program is not perfect, “We have an important role here to play, and working with partners like Homeward Trust, we are very confident that we can navigate any challenges we have.”

Fowler encourages more landlords to participate in the Housing Support program for a few reasons. It is not often you can see someone’s life change before your eyes once stable housing is provided and that stress is taken care of. As well, there is a level of security in your tenant that you cannot get from taking in applications right off the street.

“How often do you get to hand-pick a tenant? A Housing Support tenant is not a roll of the dice. You are also offered a level of support that is only one phone call away,” says Fowler. “We have a very good relationship with all the partner agencies we work with,” he adds.

With only seven staff working out of a nondescript office in the west end, homeEd also employs 15 property managers and two handyperson. It is apparent through the numbers and testimonials that homeEd is making a difference in providing affordable mixed income housing for the citizens of Edmonton. Having partner organizations such as homeEd pitching in, the goal of helping our less fortunate housed is made that much easier for Homeward Trust Edmonton and other stakeholders.

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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We recognize we are gathered, in collaboration and with joint purpose, on Treaty 6 territory. This territory is the traditional home and gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples. The nêhiyaw (Cree), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Dene, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux/Ojibwe), Nakota Isga (Nakota Sioux), Inuit, and Métis, among many others cared for this land since time immemorial and continue to steward it today. As visitors in this territory, we honour the importance of the Treaty and our responsibility to these communities. Only in partnership can we create the changes necessary to end homelessness. It is vital we meaningfully engage and partner with Indigenous people and communities in this work while recognizing and addressing the conditions brought forth by colonialism. Displacement from traditional homelands, systemic racism, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the ongoing overrepresentation of Indigenous people in child welfare, correctional systems, and homelessness are responsibilities we all share.