Maple Ridge’s Cythera Transition House Society is one of dozens of groups getting help from money doled out Tuesday by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
The society, which helps women fleeing domestic violence, is receiving $2.1 million to provide 21 new homes for women and families recovering from violence, a government release said Tuesday.
The money comes from the Building B.C.: Community Housing Fund, which has $1.9-billion from the province for the next decade.
Maple Ridge was one of 42 cities in B.C. that will get more than 4,900 new affordable, mixed-income, rental homes as part of the fund. The 4,900 homes, the first set of projects selected through this fund, will include both non-profits and co-ops, and will be built over the next two to three years.
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Lisa Beare said the 21 new units are another housing option for Maple Ridge.
“This is an important step towards addressing the housing crisis not only here in Maple Ridge but all across the province. It’s another housing option that we’re investing in the community to help with the full range of homes that are needed,” Beare said Tuesday.
The funding is designed to address the need for affordable housing across a range of income levels, in response to a housing crisis that has made housing unaffordable for even middle-class families, the ministry said.
A range of new buildings will contain units aimed at a mix of income levels, including homes for middle-income individuals and families, deeply subsidized rentals for seniors and others on fixed incomes, and homes for low-wage workers.
“Through the Community Housing Fund, we are building housing so that growing families, aging seniors and low- to moderate-income individuals can afford homes in the communities they live and work in,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.