[et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” background_image=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/fasdhousing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/MRP-9-of-16.jpg” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_header admin_label=”Fullwidth Header” title=”Chapter 1:” subhead=”Melcor” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”center” header_fullscreen=”on” header_scroll_down=”off” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” content_orientation=”center” image_orientation=”center” title_font_size=”100px” subhead_font_size=”87px” custom_button_one=”off” button_one_letter_spacing=”0″ button_one_use_icon=”default” button_one_icon_placement=”right” button_one_on_hover=”on” button_one_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ custom_button_two=”off” button_two_letter_spacing=”0″ button_two_use_icon=”default” button_two_icon_placement=”right” button_two_on_hover=”on” button_two_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ title_font_color=”#ffffff” subhead_font_color=”#fcfcfc” title_font=”Coming Soon||||” subhead_font=”Coming Soon||||”] [\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#ffffff” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”on” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding=”10px|10px|10px|10px” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Section 1″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It sits on the corner of 95th<\/sup> street and 103a Avenue, an L-shaped building, kitty corner from a grey, cracked and stuccoed Edmonton Cash Register Company building. Across the street is an unpaved Impark lot and the Edmonton Police Service headquarters.<\/p>\n It\u2019s in the heart of Boyle Street, an older neighbourhood adjacent to the downtown Edmonton corridor that sits in between Little Italy and Chinatown.<\/p>\n Square windows \u2013 without balconies \u2013 stack six rows high; a mix of white and grey concrete walls surround them. The building is flanked by glass enclosed staircases, one on each side. A city park space stretches a football field long from the back of the building. The grounds are peppered with trees, manicured walkways and park benches.<\/p>\n For anyone walking by it\u2019s a new apartment building in a tired part of town.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s more than that.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a community. It\u2019s Melcor. And for resident Benjamin Minor, it\u2019s \u2013 finally \u2013 home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#ffffff” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”on” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding=”10px|10px|10px|10px” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Section 2″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben is waiting for me in the lobby as I pull up to Melcor. He runs outside to hold open the door; as I struggle with my bags and camera gear, Ben grabs one I\u2019ve dropped.<\/p>\n \u201cLock your car!\u201d he tells me before handing me a box of mint chocolates. \u201cHelp yourself,\u201d he says, laughing under his breath. \u201cI\u2019ve already had too many.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m here to see his apartment.\u00a0 At 26, it\u2019s the first time he\u2019s had a place he can call his own, and he tells me many times how happy he is, finally living by himself.<\/p>\n He scans his key card and we walk down the hall in silence. When we reach his door, he pauses and fumbles for his key.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t had a chance to clean up,\u201d he says as he\u2019s unlocking the door. \u201cI\u2019m sorry for the mess.\u201d<\/p>\n I assure him mine\u2019s worse as he pushes open the door. And invites me in.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Ben home slide show” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#f7f7f7″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding=”10px|10px|10px|10px” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_gallery admin_label=”Ben home gallery” gallery_ids=”55,114,71,69,65,61″ fullwidth=”on” orientation=”landscape” show_title_and_caption=”on” show_pagination=”on” background_layout=”light” auto=”off” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Ben has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability occurring from prenatal exposure to alcohol. It has no cure.<\/p>\n FASD affects no two people the same way. It\u2019s an umbrella term describing a range of disabilities \u2013 physical, behavioural, mental and learning disabilities \u2013 that can occur in an individual whose mother drank during her pregnancy.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s spent his childhood in many different foster care and group homes. Because he\u2019s grown up in Children\u2019s Services, his records are sealed. Not many details are known about Ben\u2019s life before he was dropped off on the doorstep \u2013 as a 17-year-old boy \u2013 of the Skills Society, a non-profit organization in Edmonton that supports people with disabilities, their families and communities. Operating in Edmonton since the early 1980\u2019s, it believes individuals should have the opportunity to live full, contributing lives like every other person.<\/p>\n As an adult, Ben has had trouble with housing. He\u2019s lived with a supportive roommate (which places him with a family) and in a group home. He\u2019s spent time in respite housing (where individuals go when foster parents, families or guardians need a break). Unable to find the balance between support and independence, no housing situation\u2019s been a good fit for Ben.<\/p>\n Until Melcor, that is.<\/p>\n Ben has lived at Melcor for nearly a year, and those who have known him before and after say moving into Melcor may have saved his life.<\/p>\n Connie Reid is an outreach worker at the Skills Society. She said he\u2019s grown up; he needed more independence, and his previous housing situations weren\u2019t giving him the supports and resources he needed to be successful.<\/p>\n \u201cBenny\u2019s had a really hard life,\u201d said Reid, \u201cbut you wouldn\u2019t believe the difference since living here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s feeling taken care of, and accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Melcor YMCA Village is a four-year-old affordable housing facility. The housing facility is one of three components (that includes the YMCA Shirley Stollery Child Care and the YMCA Family Resource Centre) belonging to the YMCA Welcome Village, aimed at providing a range of services in the community.<\/p>\n The YMCA of Northern Alberta and Capital Region Housing Corporation partnered with the City of Edmonton to build the village, which also includes the Boyle Renaissance Plaza, a modern, yellow community centre that houses the YMCA child care and family resource centre.<\/p>\n The YMCA built the complex after receiving a 20-year affordable housing grant from the city. As an affordable housing building, YMCA must maintain unit rental rates 10 to 15 per cent below the average market rate, set by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation\u2019s yearly April data. The facility houses 148 operational apartment rooms ranging from two bedrooms to bachelor suites. All rooms are fully equipped with a kitchen and bathroom.<\/p>\n When designing the site, YMCA was deliberate about integrating other services, like the family resource centre, where people can go for assistance with things like bill payments and government subsidy, applications, and on-site staffing support, to provide more than a housing building.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think of housing as the roof,\u201d said Joan Baker, vice president of Community and Housing Initiatives with the YMCA of Northern Alberta.<\/p>\n \u201cBut people need more than a roof.\u201d<\/p>\n The Melcor tenants are a melting pot of Edmontonians; families, new immigrants, and low-income individuals all live in this diverse community.<\/p>\n According to Alec Johnston, program director at Melcor, the building is organized to give tenants the ability to maintain their lifestyle, live independently and succeed in life without the constant fear of losing housing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n