Valemount Affordable Rentals Society launches survey for strategic plan

Local Journalism Initiative
·3 min read

The Valemount Affordable Rentals Society released a survey last week to identify the village’s most common housing needs. The results will inform a three-year strategic plan to help Society members prioritize which issues to focus on.

Formed in 2017, the Society works to address gaps in Valemount’s housing market – particularly its lack of units for young couples and single people, said administrator Korie Marshall.

“A few of [the founders] had been involved with the Village’s housing committee, and we recognized there’s kind of a need for a group to spearhead housing – there’s housing for seniors and housing that [Robson Valley Community Services] was working on, but nothing for sort of the general population,” Marshall said.

Today, the Society maintains 21 rental units, plus one house big enough for a family. The majority of these units are studio apartments, with some one-bedrooms. Marshall said the Society hopes to build six to 12 more units on the lot with the house, and has gotten interest from developers who’d like to build affordable single-person units in the area.

“We keep seeing a need for units for a single person, or a couple that doesn’t qualify for senior housing,” she said. “There’s a lot of people coming for work, and they’re looking for a place and there’s a dearth of one-bedroom units.”

However, the Society has limited capacity, Marshall added. While funding for affordable housing is available from both the federal and provincial governments – such as the Canada Rental Protection Fund and BC Housing’s Community Housing Fund – volunteers only have so much time in the day to apply for funding.

“We really have such low capacity to do all of the work the [government funding agencies] will require of us. There’s plans, there’s potential,” Marshall said of the various projects the Society is considering. “We figured if we have a strategic plan, then we’ll figure out what to target.”

Due to its limited capacity, the Society used funding from Columbia Basin Trust’s nonprofit advisor program to hire consultant Christopher Cameron. Having previously worked with the Trust to develop strategic plans for the Golden & District Community Foundation and the Fernie Library, Cameron says strategic plans go a long way in making an organization’s work more effective.

“Organizations like VARS that are taking the time to build strategic plans are really important,” Cameron told the Goat. “It helps to provide a really strong road map for the work that gets done, and that’s how agencies like this can really help their community the most.”

After reviewing previous research on Valemount housing, like the 2023 Housing Needs Report, Cameron talked to Marshall to determine what information the Society’s board would find most useful. He then used the information he gathered to develop the 14-question survey.

The survey asks respondents for their opinions on the Society, its strengths and weaknesses, and how the Society should use its funding – for example, to hire more staff or develop more studio units.

The Society hasn’t decided when it will close the survey, Marshall said, but the board will review survey responses before its next planning meeting at the end of May.

Cameron said the survey responses will allow community input on the board’s strategic plan.

“Whatever information we collect in that period, I’ll analyze and share with the board,” said Cameron. “They’ll understand the perspective of people in the community [...] it’ll help guide the board’s thinking in what direction they go [with the strategic plan].”

Since being released on the 23rd, Marshall and Cameron have sent the survey via email to Society members, posted it on Facebook, and shared it with other housing providers in Valemount.

The Society is always looking for volunteer board members, Marshall adds.

“It’s really the board members who help us make decisions and figure out what we want to focus on,” she said. “More board members is one thing we always need.”

The survey can be accessed at: https://tinyurl.com/3sd3p6bv

Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Rocky Mountain Goat

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • ‘No Wonder They Shot Him’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Shares Wild Conspiracy Theory

    Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesMarjorie Taylor Greene wasted no time in suggesting that the shooting of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico Wednesday could be linked to his position on COVID vaccines.The MAGA lawmaker shared a post on X Wednesday which contained a video with English subtitles in which Fico purportedly rails against the treatment of those who opposed vaccination and other government measures to manage the pandemic (The Daily Beast has not verified the translation

  • He Was Kidnapped as a Teenager 26 Years Ago. He'd Been Within Sight of His Family's Home the Whole Time: Reports

    Omar Bin Omran, now 45, was hidden underneath a haystack in his neighbor's home when he was rescued, according to Algerian media reports

  • 17-Year-Old N.C. Girl Reported Missing Friday Is Found Dead. Police Say Her Boyfriend Reported Death

    Baylee Carver, 17, was found dead on Tuesday, May 14, four days after her boyfriend, Joshua Biles, 20, allegedly told police he disposed of her body

  • Yellowknife newcomer says his family's in the lurch while he waits for immigration papers

    When Yousef Alshayeb moved to Yellowknife, his goal was to get a job at Stanton Territorial Hospital and help fill staffing shortages in health care.Now, a year later, he's frustrated by what he feels is an arduous immigration process. He's also out of work and anxious about how he'll feed his family. Formerly a medical technician in Amman, Jordan, Alshayeb first immigrated to Ontario in October 2022 on a study permit. He said he immigrated for stability and was on track to become certified to w

  • Boat found in search for vessel that fatally struck Florida teen, authorities say

    Investigators have located a boat that may have struck and killed the 15-year-old granddaughter of a US diplomat near Key Biscayne, Florida, on Saturday, authorities said.

  • 2 suspects sought in connection with archeological theft at national park: NPS

    The National Park Service is seeking to identify two suspects wanted in connection with an archeological theft at Canyonlands National Park in Utah. The incident occurred on March 23 at Cave Spring Cowboy Camp in the Needles district of the park, NPS said this week while releasing stills of the suspects from a trail camera video. "In a video recorded at the archeological site, the individuals entered a signed-as-closed area, removed artifacts from a cabinet, and handled historic harnesses in a manner that had potential to damage them," NPS said in a release Wednesday.

  • Texas governor pardons ex-Army sergeant convicted of killing Black Lives Matter protester

    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a full pardon Thursday for a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice. Abbott announced the pardon just a few minutes after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced that it unanimously recommended that Daniel Perry be pardoned and have his firerams rights restored. Perry has been held in state prison on a 25-yea

  • Trump uses CNN commentator to argue he should be found not guilty

    Former President Trump on Thursday pointed to recent remarks from a CNN legal analyst to bolster his argument that he should not be found guilty in his hush money trial in New York. Trump, speaking with reporters following a day in court, listed off a series of news outlets and their respective analysts who have…

  • Calgary man who killed abusive father should be eligible for parole in 10 years, says defence

    A Calgary man who killed his abusive father "because he saw no way out" should be handed the minimum parole ineligibility period, his lawyer argued Wednesday.Vincent Fong, 41, has diagnoses of autism, obsessive compulsive disorder and an intellectual disability.Vincent fatally stabbed his father Kwan Fong, 70, in January 2019.Defence lawyers Katherin Beyak and Curtis Mennie had asked the jury to return a manslaughter verdict, arguing their client's disabilities coupled with the abuse meant he co

  • Ex-wife of Winnipeg serial killer recounts violence, sex assaults, bizarre behaviour

    WINNIPEG — A former wife of admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki testified Thursday about their violent marriage and how it seemed like he had multiple personalities. The woman said she met Skibicki at Siloam Mission, a Winnipeg homeless shelter, when she was struggling with drug addiction in February 2018. Skibicki was with two other men, she said, and the group invited her back to Skibicki's home. "He said he really likes this one ... referring to me," said the 44-year-old Métis woman, who a

  • Wife Texted Friend She Wanted Ex-Husband 'Gone,' Say Police. Then He Was Killed in Front of His Daughter

    Shanna Gardner is charged with murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child endangerment

  • 'House of Horrors' Survivor Jordan Turpin Has a New Boyfriend: 'Such a Fun Week Together'

    The 23-year-old posted a photo of herself and boyfriend Matt Ryan with the hashtag #couple

  • Gunman's family told deputy before Maine's deadliest shooting that they hadn't removed his weapons

    AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Police have said repeatedly in the aftermath of Maine’s deadliest shooting that officers thought the gunman’s family had been taking his weapons away. Testifying before an investigative committee on Thursday, the gunman’s sister-in-law suggested that law enforcement officers should have known this wasn’t true, because she and her husband, Ryan Card, told a deputy on the phone a month before Robert Card killed 18 people that he still had access to weapons, despite his deteri

  • American woman charged after ammunition found in baggage in Turks and Caicos on Mother's Day trip: Police

    Police in Turks and Caicos have charged an American woman with ammunition possession -- a crime that carries a minimum penalty of 12 years -- after airport officials alleged they found illegal ammunition in her luggage. Sharitta Shinise Grier, 45, of Orlando, was visiting Turks and Caicos with her daughter for Mother's Day when, during a routine search at the Howard Hamilton International Airport Monday, officials claim to have found two rounds of ammunition in her bag, police said.

  • Man accused in death of Sikh activist appeared in court just 2 days before the killing

    Amandeep Singh, the fourth man charged in connection with the killing of prominent Sikh-Canadian activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was already caught up in the Canadian justice system at the time of Nijjar's death, CBC News has learned.The Indian national, who entered Canada on a temporary visa, appeared in a Surrey, B.C. courtroom to answer charges on an unrelated matter just two days before, according to police, he lay in wait for Nijjar at the entrance to the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. Nijjar was

  • Pat King boasted on social media about 'Freedom Convoy' jamming roads, court hears

    OTTAWA — "Freedom Convoy" organizer Pat King boasted about his role in gridlocking downtown Ottawa and directed protesters to honk their horns in contravention of a court order in a series of videos published on social media during the events. Those videos are now evidence in his criminal trial. King has pleaded not guilty to nine charges related to his role in the protest, including a number of allegations that he counselled others to break the law. The Crown alleges King was a leader in the pr

  • Why this French island in the Pacific is being roiled by violence over a vote held 10,000 miles away

    Deadly violence in the French island of New Caledonia erupted for a third day Wednesday, with armed clashes between protesters, militias and police, and buildings and cars set on fire in the capital of the South Pacific archipelago.

  • Quebec man, 60, charged with second-degree murder of 34-year-old daughter

    ORMSTOWN, Que. — A 60-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 34-year-old daughter in Ormstown, Que., southwest of Montreal. Alain Caza appeared in court this morning, where he was charged with killing Amanda Caza. Quebec provincial police says local officers responded Wednesday morning to a call about an altercation between two people at a home on Cairns Street. When the arrived they found the woman, whose death was declared on site, as well as a 60-year-old

  • 'The Fly’ has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?

    A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy in which two guards were killed. Mohamed Amra, 30, has a long and violent criminal history that has now culminated in a high-profile search. Known as “La Mouche” (The Fly), Amra has also been referred to by other aliases such as “Yanis,” “Momo,” and “Schtroumpf” (Smurf).

  • Wash. Dad Allegedly Shot 9-Month-Old Son in Head at Point Blank Range as He Slept

    Dion Lamont Montgomery allegedly told police he was using PCP when he shot his baby boy, court records show