Investment in Affordable Housing Builds Foundation for Change
“It was the greatest experience for us.”
Courney Cathcart grew up in Calgary Housing. He, along with his mom and brother, lived in a townhouse complex in the west end of the city. The family was able to access Calgary Housing when Courtney was two years old, and they lived in the same location until he was 14.
The complex had a nearby field where all the children would gather. It meant that Cathcart had access to a community of neighbours growing up who all looked out for each other.
“I loved my experience at Calgary Housing. It really allowed my mom to reset a bit, do some schooling, advance in her career,” Cathcart said.
Cathcart’s mom worked two to three jobs at a time while living in Calgary Housing and was also able to focus on her education. She worked her way up at Safeway and Canada Post, taking different roles and was able to save to be able to buy a house.
Access to safe, affordable housing that was embedded in community allowed her to gain some flexibility in her family life, transition to a full-time job, and be a fully present parent to her children.
She passed on the value of a good work ethic and community.
“It created an environment for us to be able to succeed”
“It created an environment for us to be able to succeed,” Cathcart said.
Living in Calgary Housing broadened Cathcart’s perspective and it caused him to live his life differently.
“For me, volunteerism is a big part of it,” he says.
Cathcart serves as the board chair for Vivo for Healthier Generations, a charity focused on creating healthier communities and generations in Calgary and beyond. He also serves as Rogers Communications’ director of government relations for the prairies, where he advocated for improved access to internet services for people living on lower incomes.
Rogers Communications now has a partnership with The City of Calgary’s Fair Entry program.
“It’s my experience [in Calgary Housing] that has me contemplating how I make things better and more supportive for people that need a hand,”
“It’s my experience [in Calgary Housing] that has me contemplating how I make things better and more supportive for people that need a hand,” Cathcart says.
The number of people who need a hand in Calgary is significant.
As of 2025 year to date, the number of households waiting for affordable housing through Calgary Housing is 7,574. The waitlist is priority-based, not time-based. This means that all applications for subsidized housing are prioritized based on an applicant’s point score. This point score is calculated based on the Social Housing Accommodation Regulation, under the Alberta Housing Act.
This makes sure the people facing the greatest housing challenges are supported first, based on:
- Percentage of income paid in rent.
- Priority scoring based on factors such as rent burden and current living conditions.
- Household circumstances, such as whether a person is exiting domestic violence or experiencing homelessness.
Single parent families often shoulder caregiving duties for children and aging family members, increasing household expenses and placing significant pressure on them as the sole provider. According to Statistics Canada (2022), single parent households are four times more likely to live below the poverty line compared to households with two parents. Calgary Housing faces the challenge of providing housing to single parent households in matching available homes to individual family circumstances.
Although nearly 1,000 single parent families have been housed to date, more than 2,000 remain on the waiting list. Single parent families make up 32 per cent of total applicants on the waitlist but continue to face significant barriers to accessing subsidized housing.
Calgary Housing wants to support more people to transform their lives. Every child in Calgary deserves the chance to build a life of their own, much like Cathcart.
Candace Kay is a single parent. While growing up in Calgary, she got involved in the wrong crowd and was on and off the streets for over a decade, but everything changed for her as soon as she realized she was pregnant. She knew she needed to do things differently.
“I was tired of getting up every morning wondering how I was going to make money that day,” she said.
She recovered from severe addiction and prioritized finding stable housing to be able to provide for her child. She ended the relationship with her then partner because his actions didn’t fit that priority.
She applied for Income Support and Calgary Housing.
She was able to access Calgary Housing when her child was born. With a little bit of income and stable housing, Kay felt more hopeful about her life.
“I’ve been praying for something like that for so long and I’m doing the best I can being on income support,”
“I’ve been praying for something like that for so long and I’m doing the best I can being on income support,” she said.
There are still challenges ahead for Kay, including finding a full-time job, but she is confident that she can take that on because she has safe, affordable housing.
[Housing] is all that matters to me. Honestly, that makes everything fine,” she says.
Kay’s story is not uncommon. Many Calgary Housing residents are able to rebuild and transform their lives after years of unstable housing caused by job loss, family breakdown, health issues, and financial struggles.
Single parents face extended average wait times for affordable housing, often exceeding two years for larger homes.
The average wait time for single parent applicants on the waitlist is 702 days (1.9 years) for housing and this number varies based on the size of the home available. The need for larger homes is a significant barrier in providing safe, stable housing for single parent families with larger family composition.
A Calgary Housing resident we’ll call Jane had worked in the food and beverage industry for years. She held various jobs including childcare for her sister. Her husband also held a series of jobs, including serving at a local restaurant, a barber at a local hair salon and being an Uber Eats driver. Jane and her husband were getting by until their lives were derailed by health issues. Jane experiences debilitating dizziness and ear pain while her husband struggles with diabetes. At this time, the couple applied for Calgary Housing.
Jane feels like if they weren’t slowed down by their health, they would have gone on to open a business in the hospitality industry.
As the affordability crisis began to take hold, Jane felt like they were sinking fast, with no steady source of income, expensive rent, and the inability to work full time.
She couldn’t find a job. She would send out applications to grocery stores and other retails locations but wouldn’t hear anything.
“All of a sudden, things are going up, and all the doors are closed,”
“All of a sudden, things are going up, and all the doors are closed,” she said.
After six years of waiting, Jane accessed Calgary Housing. She said that getting into safe, affordable housing “stopped the financial bleeding.”
Jane and her husband live in a bachelor apartment in the heart of downtown.
“We can survive now, at least we can breathe a little bit,” Jane says.
As many as 30 per cent of applicants to Calgary Housing who are waiting for affordable housing are employed. Like Courtney’s mother, applicants are working many jobs to piece together an income to support themselves.
For these families, getting into a home in Calgary Housing would allow them to free up resources to save for education, or pay off debt. They would be able to start building sustainability in their finances to be able to survive the next shock to their financial wellbeing, with the increased cost of living.
Another group of people who face extended wait times are the single adults (non-senior) in Calgary. Research by Enough for All, a poverty reduction strategy stewarded by Vibrant Communities Calgary, found that this group typically lives at 55 per cent of the poverty line. With 2,726 single adults still waiting for housing, Calgary Housing sees applicant wait times ranging from 521 days to 766 days. The shortage of bachelor and one-bedroom homes in Calgary Housing’s inventory continues to drive housing instability for this group.
The number of people applying for affordable housing through Calgary Housing has surged by 54 per cent compared to last year. With 271 people moving to Calgary every day, the demand for affordable housing continues to grow. To meet this need, Calgary Housing is focused on increasing non-market housing supply both on behalf of the City of Calgary and through its own initiatives. The organization aims to deliver at least 3,000 non-market homes over the next decade.
People seek affordable housing for many reasons. Safe, affordable housing offers stability and a foundation for rebuilding, progress, and sustainability. Whether it’s a single parent creating a safe place for their kids, someone rebuilding life after addiction, an individual coping with medical challenges, or a hardworking Calgarian who still can’t afford rent. Affordable housing acts as a catalyst for change. It’s more than shelter; it’s a foundation for transformation.
Encourage your elected officials to continue investing in building and acquiring non-market homes.
