Chenkw Em̓út

December 17, 2024

Hiy̓ám̓ Housing Update on Chenkw Em̓út Tenanting

The tenanting team has received numerous emails and calls from applicants for the 95-unit Chenkw Em̓út project on Capilano and has been unable to respond to them because of the tremendous time commitment it takes to process the 275 applications received. We noticed a lot of these calls and emails have to do with not understanding the tenanting process and we apologize that we were unable to provide this information ahead of time. Hiy̓ám̓ is doing its best to move the tenanting process along as quickly as possible.
While we recognize housing is a critical need in our community and an emotional time for everyone that were either selected or waitlisted, we want to remind the community that this housing project is just the beginning of our journey to bring the Squamish home. The Nation, Hiy̓ám̓, and Nch’ḵay are currently working on more affordable units at Senákw on Kitsilano and Orwell on Seymour. More units are planned as part of the Build 600 Homes Action Plan, with a goal to start construction on 600 Hiy̓ám̓ rental homes by the end of 2025.
Hiy̓ám̓ received a record number of applications for the 95 units, and we wanted to assure the community that we followed a fair and equitable process for selecting these tenants. See below for a summary of the tenanting process.

Huy chexw! (Thank you – Skwxwu’7mesh)

Donalene Rapada, CEO
Hiy̓ám̓ ta Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh Housing Society

BACKGROUND

Chenkw Em̓út is a 95-unit development and was created to provide safe, long-term rental homes for Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Peoples. Priority is given to independent elders, youth, families, and people with disabilities. CHF aims to increase the availability of affordable rental housing for low to moderate-income households across British Columbia.

This development is funded by the BC Housing Community Housing Fund (CHF) program through a grant and loan. These rents are made affordable for our people because BC Housing provides us with monthly financial support for 60 years. We are required to provide BC Housing with our tenanting process as part of our annual evaluation.

The Nation conducted a housing needs survey in the fall of 2019. According to the survey, Elders were the highest-ranked housing priority. Hiy̓ám̓ Housing and the Ayás Mén̓men (AMM) received funding from Indigenous Services Canada for the construction of this development, enabling them to dedicate 15 units specifically for their most vulnerable clients.

The following is a brief summary of the tenant selection process:

Hiy̓ám̓ prioritized eligible elders who applied, and the 15 AMM referred clients. After assigning the elders and the AMM-referred clients, we proceeded with the tenant selection, and we followed the CHF funding selection criteria detailed below. We received 275 applications for 95 available units.

Those applicants who did not meet the deadline for the income verification documents and interview were waitlisted for future vacancies. Applicants that were over the income limits do not qualify for these units.

The Table below details the 2024 income eligibility requirements.

The CHF program sets the percentages (20,50&30) noted below. The following table displays the rental mix distribution, categorized by unit type and unit count.

Rental Mix Distribution Table:

*Deep – households receiving Income Assistance
**Rent Geared to Income (RGI) – households with low income
***Low End to Market (LEM) – households with moderate income

The steps followed to categorize each eligible application, as per the above table:
• Income was reviewed for whether the applicants fell under Deep Subsidy, RGI, or LEM
• The unit size required

Applications are placed in the category based on the unit size and income.

If the applications were equal to or fewer than the number of units available, the applicants were selected to be tenanted. A lottery was held if there were more applications in one category than the number of units available.