qathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
After 30 years of effort and planning, Tla’amin Nation has secured an 8.8 million dollar Federal fund for the brand new independent Elder and disability housing project, ƛaχƛaχay ʔaye (Klah-Klah-Xay Ayeh).
“This project is really important because it will allow elders to stay in the community while aging,” says public works director Richard Gage. “Currently the Nation does not have a facility like this, so having an option like this for them is really great.”
ƛaχƛaχay ʔaye is set to be complete by early 2023.
The 24-unit housing complex will be completely accessible, and four units are designed for fully wheelchair bound residents.
“If we are finding that we need more than four units with those wheelchair adaptations, we can easily change other suites to accommodate,” says project manager Carmen Galligos.
Carmen and Richard say that ƛaχƛaχay ʔaye will also include an outdoor amenity place for people to socialize with a community garden.
In 2018, the government surveyed the community and found accessible housing was the number one concern.
“The Klah-Klah-Xay Ayeh is a big win for Tla’amin,” says Housepost of public works and Tla’amin Executive Council member Dillon Johnson.
“This project has been a priority for our Elders and community for many years. It’s the largest amount of grant funding we’ve ever secured.”
8.8 million dollars of funding from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Rapid Housing Initiative (CMHC) will go towards the 11 million dollar project, and the remaining 2.2 million is funded by Tla’amin.
ƛaχƛaχay ʔaye will be built beside Tla’amin Health.
“Now that we have a solution for independent living for Elders and disabled persons in the community, we can now turn our attention to the other piece of our vision, which is to build an assisted living facility next to the Klah-Klah-Xay Ayeh,” says Dillon.
Top image credit: Rendering of the new Elder and disability age-in-place housing project at Tla’amin by Urban Arts Architecture Inc

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