Local church to be converted into affordable housing space

By Christine Clark

A $250,000 donation by the Cowan Foundation is helping to address homelessness in Waterloo Region.

The cash will go towards converting St Mark's Lutheran Church in Kitchener into an affordable housing space, owned by Indwell.

Executive Director Jeff Neven says this will be the first affordable housing program in the region, with 40 units avaliable. 

“Forty units is significant, but we really need to set our targets much higher, so an organization we are committing to 150 units of deeply affordable housing.” 

Neven says “deeply affordable” means around $500-$525 dollars a month in rent.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic says this is great news for the community.

“It really speaks I think to their values of living their faith and making a fundamental difference in the lives of those who most need those supports in the community.” 

Mary D'Alton is Executive Director of the Cowan Foundation and says they supported an Indwell project in Hamilton as well. 

“They don't just give you a key to an affordable home, they have a community of supports built into it for mental health, physical health, life skills, and it's sustainable.”

The church is located at King and Green Street near Grand River Hospital.
 

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