[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-3-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 4: ” subhead=”Alec” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” header_fullscreen=”on” header_scroll_down=”off” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” content_orientation=”center” image_orientation=”center” 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=”#eaeaea” title_font=”Coming Soon||||” title_font_size=”100px” subhead_font_color=”#f4f4f4″ subhead_font_size=”81px”] [\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” background_color=”#ffffff” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off”][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
It\u2019s 4:30 pm on a Friday afternoon, and above zero degrees \u2013 a welcomed anomaly for a mid-February day in Edmonton. Most are taking advantage by eating on patios and strolling down Whyte Avenue \u2013 but not Alec Johnston.<\/p>\n
A 28-year-old who\u2019s had more career changes than most adults near retirement, Melcor program manager Alec Johnson seems to have found his calling.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sitting in the lobby, watching a scene unfold that\u2019s become a regular occurrence over my two-week stay.\u00a0 Alec \u2013 with papers in one hand and a phone in the other \u2013 talking down a tenant who\u2019s had a disagreement with a neighbour. As he\u2019s talking, a line of tenants waiting for a chance to talk to him begins to form in the lobby.<\/p>\n
And as I watch him interact with person after person throughout the day, I know why he\u2019s more than a staff member to them. He\u2019s a friend.<\/p>\n
He has an office, but I have the feeling it\u2019s there more for appearance than practicality, since he\u2019s always where people can find him.<\/p>\n
A tall man with a soft face and bright eyes, he beams when talking about his work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis works just feels good,\u201d he said. For him, it feels like they\u2019re providing people with opportunities they might not otherwise get.<\/p>\n
A large demographic of people in Edmonton are faced with significant barriers, and housing is difficult. Johnston said it’s nice being able to provide some needs and assist in tearing down some of those barriers.<\/p>\n
As program director, his day-to-day schedule depends completely on the tenants\u2019 needs. But he always makes sure they feel safe and feel like they belong.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”rgba(249,249,249,0.9)” 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” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”ben at the front” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/fasdhousing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/second-day-b-1-of-1.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][\/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
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Community Needs<\/strong><\/p>\n Melcor thrives on understanding the many different needs of their tenants and providing supports and services to accommodate those needs. With a community revitalization occurring over the next decade, Johnston is worried it will drive out the inner-city community \u2013 people who need the housing the most.<\/p>\n It\u2019s already happening. Rogers Place \u2013 the new arena spearheading the Ice District revitalization \u2013 officially opened seven months ago, and housing options in the area are closing. The YMCA of Northern Alberta \u2013 citing a single occupancy housing model that is out of touch with current best practices \u2013 will be closing its doors, affecting 120 people. The MacDonalds Lofts, a 102-year-old, low income, heritage building located behind Rogers Place, has been bought by the Katz Group (owners of Rogers Place) after being hit with multiple orders by the Alberta Health Services declaring inhabitable living situations. It\u2019s unclear what Katz will do with the space and what will happen to the 91 residents living in the building.\u00a0 The city\u2019s homeless and vulnerable population all reside in a concentrated downtown area, yet with revitalization increasing rent and cleaning up the streets, many hard-to-house individuals are left without a home.<\/p>\n Stigma<\/strong><\/p>\n Fostering inclusion is a big part of the Melcor persona. The lobby is always filled with tenants; there are the regulars that come down to enjoy their morning coffee and read the paper. Some bring cookies to share. Others stay for hours talking and welcoming anyone coming through the doors.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the play place, complete with a mini jungle gym, where kids play and moms relax.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t get this sense of community in suburbia, said Johnston.<\/p>\n I can never sneak out the backdoor at the end of my day, he said. He said it\u2019s a whole 20-minute process of just saying goodbye to everyone, and people who don\u2019t have much invite their entire floor over for dinner. It\u2019s incredible, he said.<\/p>\n All too often, there is an association made between crime and safety and affordable housing locations. Johnston said it\u2019s a constant struggle once a certain building is labelled \u201caffordable housing.\u201d There\u2019s an idea that people living in affordable housing facilities bring problems into the community; they\u2019re derelicts, transient and drug users.<\/p>\n When Johnson first started working at Melcor, friends and family told him he was crazy to work in that neighbourhood; they told him to walk with keys between his knuckles.<\/p>\n There is a misconception that affordable housing programs cater to the \u201cunderbelly of Edmonton,\u201d but Johnston argued that just isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n Its rough, he said, to always be fighting those uneducated views, but said those notions couldn\u2019t be further from the truth.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t make judgements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n This community looks out for one another, people care for each other and the building. It\u2019s their home and they are proud. If people saw this place the way he sees it, said Johnston, “there wouldn\u2019t be that stigma of it being a scary place.”<\/p>\n “Because it\u2019s not.”<\/p>\n As my time at Melcor ends, I find Johnston\u2019s assessment of the Melcor tenants entirely accurate. I\u2019ve been invited for dinner twice, asked to come see a tenant\u2019s home four times, and had countless lobby conversations about everything from work to girlfriend troubles.<\/p>\n If I\u2019m there early in the morning, I can\u2019t walk through the front door without being stopped by various tenants, congregated outside for their morning smoke, eager to pass on the morning\u2019s gossip.<\/p>\n People know their neighbours, said Johnston. He said they know you inside and out, the good and the bad.<\/p>\n “They take care of the building, and the people in it.”<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”rgba(249,249,249,0.9)” 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” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”ben in melcor” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/fasdhousing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/04\/second-day-5-of-7.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][\/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_post_nav admin_label=”Post Navigation” in_same_term=”off” hide_prev=”off” hide_next=”off” prev_text=”Chapter 3″ next_text=”Chapter 5″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_post_nav][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s 4:30 pm on a Friday afternoon, and above zero degrees \u2013 a welcomed anomaly for a mid-February day in Edmonton. Most are taking advantage by eating on patios and strolling down Whyte Avenue \u2013 but not Alec Johnston. A 28-year-old who\u2019s had more career changes than most adults near retirement, Melcor program manager Alec […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-89","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n