LILIUM VILLAGE

From April 2021 to 2022, 3178 individuals seeking shelter were turned away.  Just one year later, at the end of 2022, over 3000 women and children were turned away from YWCA shelters alone due to lack of space.  This number does not include those turned away from other related shelters in the city. 

In response, investments have been made to expand the local services available.  However, the majority of these are for emergency shelter spaces.  In the absence of adequate transitional or second-stage housing many of those in need will return to homelessness and/or remain reliant on emergency housing for longer than necessary. 

Numbers consistently reflect that the cost to provide stable housing to those in need is drastically lower than to provide the emergency services they will require in the absence of it. 

The ‘community by community’ mindset that the Lilium Village Build Project brings extends our capacity for change under a smaller price stage. The current much-needed expansion projects in Regina that will be delivering transitional housing spaces are through large facilities equating to increased overhead costs.  Two examples of these are a 19-family project with a price tag of $32.7 million and a combined emergency shelter/supportive housing (108 beds total) including space for 8 family units for $68 million.

Comparatively, through responsible planning and the generosity of our community, the estimated cost of Lilium Village to provide housing for 12 families is $1.8 million.