More affordable housing is coming to Lethbridge as soon as next spring.
According to the Blackfoot Family Lodge Society, the Soaring Hearts Project will see 14 new three-bedroom units built in north Lethbridge for Blackfoot women and their families.
Located just off Scenic Drive at 830 7 St. N., the site was formerly home to a church which has since been demolished.
“The initial intent of the project was just to renovate or retrofit the church,” said Lance Tailfeathers, chair of the Blackfoot Family Lodge Society.
However, Tailfeathers said the discovery of unmarked graves on residential school sites prompted them to “change the optics” by starting fresh.
“It’s always challenging for young ladies to come into the city of Lethbridge and to try to get housing — there’s a stigma of rental units and stuff like that,” Tailfeathers said.
“So this is really basically a springboard.”
In addition to $300,000 in funding from the City of Lethbridge and a $10,000 in-kind donation from Lafarge, the Alberta government is contributing close to $3.4 million.
“To be able to partner with them on something as significant as housing for women and children, which will establish some security for those individuals that need to live here, it just makes a great start and sets off a ripple of positive effects throughout their entire community, and throughout our entire community,” said Lethbridge-East MLA Nathan Neudorf.
The first phase of construction is expected to be complete in spring of 2023, with future phases including the addition of a daycare.