Elkford residents will soon learn the results of a survey on affordable housing for seniors.
The study was conducted on behalf of the Elkford Housing Society, which is investigating affordable housing options for seniors in the community.
The not-for-profit organization will present the survey findings to the public on June 18 in Elkford.
“We will take the information that came out of the survey and we will also take in what people’s attitudes and comments are at the meeting then we will see what our next steps will be towards trying to reach our goal of bringing in some affordable housing in Elkford,” said Elkford Housing Society Chair Duncan McDonald.
According to Mayor Dean McKerracher, one third of Elkford residents are over 55 and currently have nowhere suitable to live.
“The majority of them are in rented condos but a rented condo with shift workers living in the condo isn’t a great place for seniors to live because they’re susceptible to a Friday every day of the week,” he said.
“When you’ve got shift workers, their Fridays change from week to week.”
At the recent Association of Kootenay and Boundary Local Governments Convention in Fernie, McKerracher attended a session on housing affordability, which addressed funding options and support available to charities and local governments for new housing developments.
He said he found the AKBLG talk helpful and the housing society had attended similar events.
“We’re moving in a good direction,” he said.
“The council is supportive of the whole project and we’ve already agreed that somewhere down the road, we’ll give them a piece of land to build on.”
The public presentation will be held on June 18 from 6-7 p.m. in Teck Hall at the Elkford Community Conference Centre.
