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Affordable housing isn't easy for anyone to find in Halton, where an average two-bedroom property costs about $2,200 a month.
The struggle is particularly challenging for single mothers earning $45,000 a year.
Home Suite Hope (HSH), an Oakville charity focused on helping single-parent families, has launched a campaign to build affordable housing for homeless mothers to help them combat increased rental costs.
Supporting HSH's dream cause and leveraging his passion for flying, a young Oakville pilot will fly his single-engine aircraft around the world next spring to draw attention to the need and raise $1 million.
"We won $75,000 in the second round of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Housing Supply Challenge last summer to initiate prototyping our housing solution in which single parents will be ready to advocate for themselves," says Krystal Valencia, HSH's Director of Development.
About 50 units will be built in the Halton region over the next eight years, starting with 12 units for low-income single parents in the summer of 2023. These units will have universal designs, and 20 per cent of them will meet accessibility standards.
"Our dream is to build a mixed-income campus where all needs of single parents ranging from healthcare, daycare and daily needs will be catered to," Valencia added.
Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, HSH has brought for-profit organizations for their expertise, non-profit partners for building houses, real-estate developers and single parents to the same table.
Callum Wallace, a 27-year-old Oakville pilot who has been involved with HSH for more than five years, is eager to help the organization achieve its dreams.
Callum Wallace
"Due to my professional work with commercial real estate, I have a better insight into affordable housing challenges," commented Wallace.
"The idea of Flight for Hope, the campaign, came from using my passion for flying to help HSH. I am a fan of their good work and want to support them where I can."
Through the organization's four-year Homeward Bound Halton program, homeless mothers receive rental subsidies, access to childcare, transportation, a two-year college education, life skills, professional development, mentorship, employment support, and intensive case management.
When the moms are ready to transition to an independent life after attending the program, setbacks like unaffordable housing can impact the trajectory of their moving forward, said Sara Cumming, HSH's executive director.
"The housing market has been deeply affected by rental bidding, making it difficult for the struggling moms to get a shelter and even forcing them to rent illegal units," she said.
Wallace will start his journey in May 2023, planning to travel to 40 locations across 27 countries.
Starting from Canada, he will fly to Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and Australia, finishing in California. He aims to hand a cheque for $1 million to HSH, leveraging his personal and professional network to get corporate sponsors to contribute 75 per cent of his goal.
