GuelphToday received the following letter to the editor from R. Jason Ashdown of Skyline Group of Companies.
In our community of Guelph-Wellington, the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness continues to grow. There are tents in the streets. These desperate community members struggle to make it through each night safely. Homelessness is not just detrimental to the people experiencing it. It can have a profound effect on the health of a community - and it will take an entire community to solve this crisis.
As a rental housing provider operating across Canada, Skyline has seen first-hand the struggles of families and individuals to maintain secure, stable housing. We recognize our responsibility to find tangible, effective solutions to keep people safely and securely housed for the long term. This commitment is a fundamental part of our business, and over the years we have established and maintained partnerships with many community health and social service providers.
In our solutions-based conversations with these organizations, we quickly realized that we could contribute to a new model of care for people - a model that would provide better care for individuals and at that same time provide a better return on the public and private investments that are needed to make our community health and social services system better.
That is why Skyline has contributed approximately $2.7 million in value --including a $1.7 million land donation, as well as time and professional expertise in construction oversight, legal, marketing - and more - to 10 Shelldale Crescent. This is a new permanent supportive housing development in the Onward Willow neighbourhood of Guelph that will provide 32 apartments for community members with the most complex housing and health care needs.
We anticipate that the building will be welcoming its first tenants in the new year. This development is an investment in long-term meaningful and effective results. The immediate social impact is getting 32 people off the streets of Guelph and supporting another 76 individuals across the community. But the greater social impact goes far beyond: community prosperity, reduced social service demand, a strengthened economy, and more.
With 10 Shelldale Crescent, we leveraged all our relationships, consulting with architects, engineers, and suppliers. We tapped into our human resources to provide expertise in all aspects of construction and development of the building. This investment of not only money, but also time, experience, and influence, created a positive ripple effect, and I, for one, cannot wait to showcase the progress that is possible when public, private, and not-for-profit organizations come together with shared purpose.
It is my wish and aspiration to see success stories like 10 Shelldale Crescent providing hope to those who need our help. . . hope to our communities through demonstrating that by working together, we can make a meaningful difference in one another's lives. . . and hope that better really is possible.
R. Jason Ashdown
Co-Founder & Chief Sustainability Officer
Skyline Group of Companies
