To provide a home for Aboriginal persons with complex mobility challenges that requires holistic care and support with daily living.

Facts:

• In a recent survey OF HOMELESSNESS in Calgary researchers and service PROVIDERS IDENTIFIED more than 24 Aboriginal pople with quadriplegia, paraplegia and amputations who were absolutely homeless!
• THE PRESENT cost to the agencies, Calgary Health Region, And THE CALGARY City Police and The Emergency Medical Services for one person in this situation is averaging $70,000 per year.
• $70,000 x 24 = $1,680.000 per year
• Kootenay LODGE WOULD be able to serve 10 people IN LONG TERM TRANSITIONAL housing for less than half of that cost and in three years time less than 1/4 that cost.

Owned by the Calgary Community Land Trust and operated by the Canadian Paraplegic Association, Kootenay Lodge is an innovative and vital supported housing program serving the most vulnerable and at-risk Aboriginal clients. Kootenay Lodge will provide supported and specialized housing for homeless Aboriginal adults who live with severe disabilities. The goal is to divert these adults from living on the street where they face extreme physical, psychological and emotional risks and from costly emergency care related to their disabilities.

Kootenay Lodge will provide continuous staff support, medical care and specialized facilities to assist residents in stabilizing their health. The residents will be able to participate in culturally appropriate (physical, emotional, and spiritual) healing, personal skill development, and pre- employment and on going employment support. Individuals who can stay at Kootenay Lodge will be encouraged to reframe and regain meaningful connection to family. The program will provide access to community based services relating to vocational rehabilitation, support for recovery from addictions, opportunities for recreation and community involvement.

Kootenay Lodge will offer the only specialized community-based housing for homeless Aboriginal people with severe disabilities in Canada

Locally and nationally, the Aboriginal community experiences 4 times higher than the mainstream rates of injury (University of Calgary study, 2003) and consequent disability. This is reflective of extremely high rates of poverty, inadequate housing, geographic isolation from medical facilities and addictions related to abuse, neglect, trauma and the negative impacts of inter-generational marginalization and colonization. Mainstream housing and health care programs cannot meet the special needs of this population due to cultural, social, physical and capacity barriers.

Current programming that provides emergency shelter and services to absolutely homeless individuals is inadequate to address the needs of homeless Aboriginal individuals with severe disabilities. In the absence of effective and accessible alternatives, these individuals experience extremely negative impacts to their physical and emotional health and well-being. The costs to our police, EMS and hospital systems that result from this are very high. Homeless Aboriginal individuals with severe disabilities experience rapid deterioration in their conditions on the street and often only receive support once crisis occurs. This results in frequent ambulance transfers, Emergency Room visits, and hospital stays. These costs vastly exceed what is required to resource a preventative approach centered on safe, supported, long-term housing options in community.

To address this pressing need and to promote positive client and community outcomes Kootenay Lodge will:

• Provide residents with safe, stable and supported housing
• Deliver specialized, culturally appropriate programming
• Support residents to effectively reintegrate in community
• Ensure residents access available supports to achieve economic, social and physical stability
• Improve the quality of life and health of residents through holistic programming
• Reduce emergency and hospital health care costs through provision of specialized, community-based on-site health care and management for residents

Housing, supports and services for homeless Aboriginal individuals with disabilities must be viewed as a central approach to ending homelessness among this population and to dramatically reducing systemic costs associated.

Currently, there are no community-based crisis, transitional or supported housing beds

available specifically to serve the needs of the homeless Aboriginal population with physical disabilities. This most vulnerable population has no access to appropriate options for shelter.

Kootenay Lodge has been designed and developed to align with key priorities identified in Building Paths Out of Homelessness: Calgary Community Plan 2004-2008 and has received the full support of the broad community of service providers through an extensive collaborative review process. Capital funds have been committed and the program is prepared to commence operations in winter 2006-2007

Kootenay Lodge seeks financial support to ensure the sustainability of our essential program.