Another year has flown by as it is difficult to believe the Holiday Season is just around the corner. It seems we just closed the books on our Edmundston conference and we have begun planning for Fredericton in 2012. I am very excited about this conference as it will no doubt build on the momentum we have achieved in the past few years- we hope for an all time record attendance. This is our flagship...

Our 2012 annual conference will be held at the Delta Hotel in Fredericton May 10 -12, 2012. Our conference planning committee has begun planning and many great ideas have already been exchanged. We can assure all our members that the goal of the committee is to deliver the best conference ever! The conference will open on Thursday, May 10 at 7:00pm with the Official Opening and reception. This...

On November 9, Sue Stultz, Social Development Minister and Keith Ashfield, Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, signed the latest affordable housing agreement which will see $47 million in funding for all housing programs to help reduce the number of households in need in New Brunswick. It represents a 3 year commitment to provide funding for new affordable housing and renovations to 2014. We...

On November 28, 25 units of seniors housing were opened in Tracadie-Sheila. Habitation St. Joseph Inc. received $800,000 in federal economic stimulus funding as well as $1.6 million from the province to supply rent supplements on 20 of the units. In conjunction with the signing of the Canada-New Brunswick Housing Agreement, the John Howard Society project, Flanders Court Residences in Moncton was...

We are pleased to announce we have 3 new members who recently joined the Association. Residence Ancienne Jeunesse in Rogersville is a 41 unit project serving seniors which has been an important contributor to the supply of affordable housing in the community for some time. The Abby St. Andrew  Inc. in Saint John is a new project of 96 units serving a variety of clients of low income which is...

This is an update to the report in our July newsletter provided by Social Development: A new 3 year Affordable Housing Agreement has been signed with the federal government: The Homeownership Assistance Program has been enhanced $460,000 has been given to emergency shelters to address health and safety concerns and $500,000 to help with operating costs and help transition people to affordable...

Across the province, “Community Inclusion Networks” are playing a significant role in Overcoming Poverty Together: New Brunswick’s Economic and Social Inclusion Plan. Twelve networks are operating across the province in order to: -identify local priorities for poverty reduction -help strengthen impact through community planning & collaboration -assist communities in accessing resources -leverage...

The Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) is a community-based program that relies on communities to determine their own needs and to develop appropriate projects. The HPS supports 61 designated communities and some small, rural, northern and Aboriginal communities to develop local solutions to homelessness. The HPS partners with provinces and territories, communities, and the private and voluntary...

CHRA will hold its next national Congress in St. John’s, NFLD,  May 1-4, 2012. This congress has not been in Atlantic Canada for some time so it is hoped all parts of the Atlantic will be represented to showcase the good things that are happening here in affordable housing. Visit www.chra-achru.ca for details on the Congress. Two priorities for CHRA include...

The National Council of Welfare just released a valuable report “The Dollars and Sense of Poverty “  which contributes to the growing body of evidence  that shows that the costs of poverty are very great and concludes that investing to reduce poverty benefits everyone. Many Canadians seem concerned that reducing poverty means spending more on those living in poverty while the research is showing...