Rainbow Ridge: Preparing for the next round

Roy L Hales/ CKTZ News -  Rainbow Ridge is not one of the six Vancouver Island projects that BC Housing is funding this season.
"We suspected that was a possibility because there were so many applications and so much need across the province. We definitely had our fingers crossed and hoped we would be accepted but, unfortunately, we were not,” said Elizabeth Anderson, President of the Cortes Community Housing Society (CHS).

Project coordinator Sandra Wood spoke in terms of the twenty families who had hoped they would have a more permanent rental homes next year.

“As a result, some of those people are going to leave the island. The rest of them will keep hanging on and doing the island shuffle, from seasonal rental to seasonal rental. We know that’s hard, that’s the whole reason we are doing what we are doing. It is a sad situation that I wish we had a faster solution for.”

Anderson added, “It still bothers me so much that one of the more vulnerable people, who lived on this island for many, many years, was looking for safe housing. Before he could find it, his unsafe housing burned down around him.”

Wood said, “A lot of our community members have to move twice a year. Moving out in June or July … when the owners return … and having to seek new accommodation again in September. It is so stressful for them and such a loss of productive energy. It is not a good use of their time and does not contribute to our island economy.”

Some of the island’s most creative are caught up in this. Wood observed that the time consumed by these moves could be used “creating events, creating art” or serving on the board of the island’s many volunteer organizations.

“It is a huge cost and that is why the Housing Society has worked so hard to bring this to where we are today. I want to give a big shout out to all of our supporters, all of the donors who have helped us to purchase this incredible piece of land and all of the people who have helped us do the predevelopment and design that we have accomplished in just three short years,” said Wood.

“We have to remember how much we have accomplished together. Even though we are disappointed that we weren’t selected to start construction this year, it is just a matter of time. We know the next steps we have to take.”