Rosalie’s Village a ‘game changer’
At Rosalie’s Village, a newly opened housing project in Saanich, women fleeing violence and poverty can live within their means, in safety and with free child care.
“To go from living minute-to-minute, in fear of homelessness, for your safety or for your kids, to a safe place to heal and regroup is huge,” said Colin Tessier, director of support services at Rosalie’s Village on West Saanich Road. “This building will be a game changer in many people’s lives.”
The 42-unit residential building and daycare, has been in the works for nearly a decade. The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul had a vision to use unused land they owned to house women and children. The $12-million project combined the efforts of non-profits, every level of government and the private sector. The project is named after Rosalie Rendu, an 18th-century Catholic nun and mentor of the founders of the non-profit society.
“To get any kind of large development like this off the ground is a complicated endeavour,” Tessier said. “It only comes together through community partnerships, going to meetings, council meetings and being part of the public conversation on housing.”
The four-storey building includes oneand two-bedroom units and two four-unit townhouses that rent between $800 to $1,200 a month. Tenants are a mix of lowincome working women and others on social assistance. About half are single mothers. They can stay at the building for up to five years. There are three emergency units for single mothers to use up to 60 days. There is also an on-site licensed daycare that is free for resident mothers. Male visitors and children are welcome but the primary tenants must be women.
According to Statistics Canada, there were more than 13,000 lone-parent households in Victoria in 2011.
“The idea of Rosalie’s Village is to help single mothers out of social assistance by removing one of the biggest barriers: child care,” Tessier said, adding that any unused spaces at the daycare will be opened to the public at market rates. “What’s also unique is that most transitional housing is short term. Having up to five years will help women look at the long arc … to think about what they want to do.”
Tessier said residents are referred from agencies across the region. Each resident meets with a support worker to identify short and long term goals and offer suggestions to build community. Some of these are already being put into action, with a clothing swap and community garden planting this week.
“I was in a relationship that had a bunch of issues and I had to leave,” said Jenny E., who did not want to use her last name. Last fall, she took her infant daughter to a transition house; she said she didn’t expect to find anywhere to live because of the tight housing market in Victoria.
“Once landlords found out you were on maternity leave, with a kid, they just rented to someone else. I was so surprised to get in here. When I found out I got approved I bawled my eyes out,” she said. Jenny will put her 15-month-old daughter in daycare a few days a week and take some time before going back to work. “I’ve never been in a situation where I can take care of myself and where I feel so secure.”
Carol G. said she also cried when she was accepted into the building. Working 40 hours a week as a single mother of two sons, one with autism, had worn her down. Being at Rosalie’s Village is giving her time to get better and regroup.
“It’s the home that I’ve waited for,” said Carol, who was the first tenant to move in last December while the building was still under construction.