For anyone interested in housing on Salt Spring Island, a local group’s year-long project needs to be on their must-read list.
Salt Spring Solutions’ (SSS) just-released Homes for Islanders – An Integrated Framework for Housing Solutions on Salt Spring Island is more than just another report on the island’s housing crisis, according to board member and group co-founder Elizabeth FitzZaland; it may help chart a path around the “institutional paralysis” organizations attempting to solve the problem have experienced.
“What we came to realize is that organizations like the Islands Trust and the Capital Regional District were talking about housing, but not necessarily to or with each other, or in reference to previous work within their own organizations,” said FitzZaland in a press release. “Countless reports have been written on housing, however, none of them has sufficiently stepped out of their organizational silos to consider the big picture, or to address the need for inter-agency cooperation and problem-solving on housing.”
Homes for Islanders sets out to cement the fragmented nature of island governance — and what SSS characterizes as a “lack of coordination and collaboration” between government organizations — by re-examining the immense amount of work island groups have already done in identifying needs and suggesting solutions, then setting out tangible steps forward — and assigning them to the specific groups with the authority and capacity to take them on.
“Our framework pulls together and articulates the various threads of responsibility, and advocates for housing solutions that have been implemented with success in other rural communities,” said FitzZaland. “These are the actions we can focus on right now and work on collaboratively to change things for the better. We’re inviting elected officials and staff from all the relevant organizations to roll up their sleeves and talk together with us about these key strategies.”
As readers digest the report, SSS said they are engaging in dialogue with stakeholders over the summer, with plans for a wider public engagement in the fall. To dive in, visit saltspringsolutions.com.