Introducing our 14 Pleasantville Units
Choices for Youth (CFY) completed a significant expansion to its supply of affordable housing in 2023. We have been working diligently since Fall 2021 to build fourteen new affordable housing units in Pleasantville for mothers and families with young children, as well as young women in need of safe housing. With the assistance of our Impact Construction social enterprise, which was subcontracted to complete some of the work, construction concluded in January 2023. All of these affordable housing units are now fully occupied, providing stability and opportunity to fourteen families.
These new state-of-the-art, energy-efficient units are primarily housing participants in CFY’s Momma Moments program. These affordable housing units are an example of one of the wrap-around supports that Momma Moments provides to young moms and their children. Housing stability is proven to reduce a child’s risk of apprehension, so by providing young families with stable, affordable housing, Momma Moments is setting these moms up for success and giving them the chance to pursue other goals. This housing expansion has effectively created a physical community where these families are now all living in the same area and can aid, empower, and motivate one another.
CFY will continue to develop and maintain these affordable housing units and we are planning to install a playground in the area next year to provide a safe space to promote the social, emotional, and developmental needs of the children living there. These units are just the first step in offering a full-fledged Young Parents Resource Centre – a vision of a centre for on-site programming, day-care, and more.
Jeannie Piercey, Momma Moments and Family & Natural Supports Program Coordinator
“The good thing about Pleasantville is there is the variety of families supported. There are moms who are working, there are moms who are going to school, there are moms who are paying their own way, and then there are moms who are trying to get back on track. It is truly like a village in the sense that people are supporting each other in different capacities and motivating each other indirectly.”
26 Affordable Housing Units Through Soft Landing’s Newest Initiative
Choices for Youth (CFY) is always looking to identify and address any gaps in our programming. While our existing housing programs, namely RallyForward, The Lilly, and The Choices Shelter, offer housing options for young people facing various barriers, their high levels of need coupled with rising rental prices meant that fewer and fewer young people were moving out of these programs. At the same time, there were still lots of young people with less intense needs who were struggling to access housing. Many of these young people were coming into St. John’s from other areas of the province without any housing prospects. We launched Soft Landing to increase CFY’s capacity to provide housing to these young people.
Soft Landing is a rapid rehousing program that helps young people find and maintain housing. Young people are greatly disadvantaged when accessing the rental housing market for the first time, and this is especially true for vulnerable youth lacking other supports. Young people typically encounter bias, stigma, and discrimination when dealing with property managers and landlords. Soft Landing gives young people a chance by advocating for youth and breaking down the barriers that prevent them from entering the rental housing market. Once they have successfully placed a young person in a rental property, Soft Landing helps them maintain their housing by providing a variety of services to their landlord, such as regular home inspections, assistance with cleaning, and general problem-solving. This dynamic creates a win-win situation because the landlord’s job is made easier, and the young person has access to an affordable place to live.
Soft Landing obtained its first rental property in July 2022, allowing them to immediately provide housing to five young people. The program has continued to grow since then by leveraging the connections made with landlords to find new rental opportunities. Once the concept has been proven to a landlord, and they see the role that Soft Landing plays in maintaining the property and ensuring bills are paid, Soft Landing can use that landlord as a reference when approaching other property owners. This dynamic is helping Soft Landing grow its network of affordable rental properties. Soft Landing now maintains five different properties with twenty-six rooms dedicated to CFY youth.
Soft Landing is currently supporting 60 youth housed in rental properties throughout St. John’s. The program continues to support young people after they have obtained housing, teaching them the skills required to live independently and maintain stable housing, with the goal of eventually transitioning them to fully independent living situations. Youth living in Soft Landing properties have all their housing expenses covered under their rent, except for groceries and personal items. This makes it easier for young people to manage their monthly expenses and gives those under the age of 18 years old easy access to services like heat, light, and internet. The program even supplies some staple household items like laundry detergent and dish-cleaning liquid, which sets the young people up for success and gives them the tools to be independent.
Greg Quinn, Soft Landing Program Coordinator
“When you think about a transitional plan, somebody who receives heavy wrap-around supports could gradually become more independent and then move into Soft Landing. It becomes a flow of high supports to medium supports to low supports and then full independence - Soft Landing is one of those steppingstones to independence.”