Monthly Bulletin
March 2023
NEWS, INITIATIVES, AND EVENTS
Designated Supportive Living (DSL) Operations
We were proud and excited to welcome our first DSL residents into the
new wing at Bow River Lodge last month! The program brings public
DSL care to the region for the first time and will help keep seniors close
to their loved ones and supports in the community for longer. We
expect up to 30 former residents of the region who left to access this
level of care will return to live at Bow River Lodge!
We want to thank the Government of Alberta, Alberta Seniors,
Community and Social Supports, Alberta Health, Alberta Health
Services, and SE Health for helping us bring this facility to Canmore
and the Bow Valley region. There will be a Grand Opening in April.
2023 Operating Budgets
We have completed our Supportive Living operating budgets, which
inform our annual municipal requisition. We have received the 2023
Social Housing budgets for Alberta Seniors, Community, and Social
Supports, which keep our Community Housing and Seniors’
Independent Housing at 2022 levels. The Province has provided an
increase to our Rent Supplement budget along with a one-time lump
sum of $54,000 to be used for rental assistance; this has allowed us to
increase the number of households on the program by nearly one third.
2022 Audit
Our annual external audit has been completed by KMSS. They
presented their findings and the 2022 financial statements to the Board
in March. The audit found that all systems and procedures align with
accepted principles.
PROGRAM OCCUPANCY RATES
Bow River Lodge 78%
Cascade House 84%
Bow River Homes 100%
Mount Edith House 100%
Community Housing 100%
Rent Supplement 100%
SPECIAL PROJECTS
This is Home (Phase 3+)
We have submitted a draft business case to Alberta Seniors,
Community, and Social Supports for our Phase 3+ Projects. These
projects, if approved, would refresh much of our Community and
Seniors’ Independent Housing stock, while adding different types and
affordability levels of housing to the region in Canmore and perhaps
elsewhere. We hope that the GOA will appreciate and be able to
approve the opportunity here and that we will be able to collaborate
with them, the Town of Canmore, and perhaps other Housing Agencies
to address some of the housing crisis in the Bow Valley.
RESOURCES
• In an emergency please dial 911
• For 24/7 nurse advice and general health information for
Albertans information on diseases, treatments, staying well, and
healthcare services dial 811
• For 24/7 community program and service information, including
affordability programming for residents of the Bow Valley dial
211
ABOUT BOW VALLEY REGIONAL HOUSING
Bow Valley Regional Housing (BVRH) is a Housing Management
Body (HMB) serving the Government of Alberta and the Bow Valley
Region. HMB operational funding sources vary. Tenants pay
accommodation fees. Those fees are subject to affordability limits,
which prevents them from fully covering the costs of operations.
Provincial grants and municipal ratepayer requisitions subsidize
seniors lodge deficits, while the Province also subsidizes deficits in
independent seniors and community housing.
As the HMB for the Bow Valley region, BVRH is responsible for
social housing, as well as affordable supportive living
accommodation for seniors throughout Kananaskis Country, the Bow
Corridor, the MD of Bighorn and all of Banff National Park, an area
covering about 13,500 square kilometres. All told, we currently
house, or help to house approximately 400 residents of the Bow
Valley in eight permanent housing projects encompassing 36 separate
buildings.
More information is available on our website at www.bvrh.ca
