A new report shows that nearly one-third of the community of Conklin lives in “inadequate or unstable” housing. Of that third, more than 35 per cent were under 20 years old.
The Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN), and the Conklin Resource Development Advisory Committee (CRDAC) worked together to create questions about job status, income, housing instability and family demographics for the hamlet.
The groups surveyed 54 residents in the hamlet between Aug. 3 and 26, 2018 and found that 40 of them are unemployed and more than half of them made between $10,000 and $20,000.
Meanwhile 46 – or 85.19 per cent – of them considered their homes to be inadequate. Only one said their dwelling is “suitable.”
Essentials like plumbing, heating, electrical and insulation were the most noted issues, along with overcrowding.
The report estimates that 40 to 45 units need to be added to the community in the immediate future.
David Berrade, interim administrator for CRDAC, said while they’re working on finding housing, that isn’t the entire problem.
“I think the larger question is, just based on some of the other challenges within the community, there’s a lot of social issues that lead to the housing problem.”
He said that they’ve put in a provincial application for a housing development that could see around 36 houses built.
Other options include working with Wood Buffalo Housing to use a piece of their land within the community.
Berrade estimated that the cost of land and structures would be around $15 to 20 million.
A previous report was done by Willow Springs Strategic Solutions in April 2018 also showed that the majority of the community is negatively impacted by the housing crisis.
