Sask. housing for pregnant women living with HIV, seniors and families: $ 6.7 million in funding

A new Saskatoon building intended to house HIV-positive pregnant women is still covered with indoor wiring, but Katelyn Roberts is already aware that the ten-unit condominium project will be full at its opening .

"said Roberts, executive director of Sanctum, a non-profit organization that provides care to people living with HIV / AIDS.

On Monday, the governments of Saskatchewan and the federal government announced a joint investment of $ 765,500, the housing corporation building Sanctum 1.5. The City of Saskatoon Provides An Additional $ 100,000

The O South Avenue home includes a common kitchen, four baths and a recreation area that will be used by women living with HIV and AIDS. AIDS or risk of contracting the disease

The non-profit organization Sanctum builds a prenatal home for HIV-positive women. Pictured are Executive Director Katelyn Roberts (left) and Program Director Kathy Malbeuf. (Submitted by Sanctum)

"In Saskatchewan, we have the highest rates of HIV in the country and we also have the highest number of HIV-positive women of childbearing age and we also live in a community. many women struggle with addiction and chronic homelessness, "Roberts said.

The most significant intervention and support that can be provided, she said, is when women are pregnant. The purpose of Sanctum in this project is to prevent children from being apprehended by social services at birth.

The Department of Social Services does not usually work with mothers until they have given birth.

"B [the mothers] were pregnant, the baby is apprehended and placed in child care and this critical connection between the mother and the child does not take place," Roberts said. expectant mothers living in Sanctum 1.5 may also help reduce the risk of vertical transmission of HIV.

The chances of transmission are less than 2% when women have access to the appropriate medications.

More than 50 build

The Sanctum 1.5 funding announcement is part of a larger injection of funds into Saskatchewan's affordable housing infrastructure. "Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women, was present Monday for the announcement and described how social housing helped her and her family, when she and her family arrived in Canada as refugees

.This is with open arms that security networks like Social housing has allowed me to continue my studies and finish, to see the value of community organizations like the ones we support today, "she said.

Saskatoon

Other projects funded by the $ 6.7 million announced on Monday include:

• $ 2.5 million for 10 affordable rental housing for seniors in La Ronge
• 1.1 million $ 9 for nine family rental units in Pinehouse Lake, Sask.
• $ 640,000 for Methy Housing Corporation to build six rental units in La Loche for single-parent families
• $ 312,500 for Prince Albert The ACSM will build six units for people with mental illness and disabilities. complex needs.
• Gabriel Housing Corporation of Regina built six units for families with complex needs.
• $ 500,000 for the Battleford Indian and Métis Friendship Center to develop an eight-unit condominium project for homeless people in the city. Clark stepped on the podium at Sanctum 1.5, he encouraged those present to remember what was the area near O South Avenue and 21st Street 15 years ago.

  He called it "the walk". dark weather, a dark place to have in the community, and you think, what can we do to create the conditions to prevent this? "

  Breaking the cycles of poverty, homelessness and racism that keep people marginalized, Clark says partnerships need to come from the community

  Monsef agreed to speak to reporters on behalf of the federal government.

  "We can play the role of convener and bring together different partners, but in the end, communities know their nei ghbours better," she said.