11 December 2024
Four local seniors’ housing providers are collaborating to remove barriers for older Calgarians seeking affordable housing.
This week they launched YYC Seniors Housing, a new online application portal where low-to-moderate-income independent seniors can apply to Silvera for Seniors, Onward Homes, Bethany Care Society and Calgary Heritage Housing with a single application.
The portal, at www.yycseniorshousing.ca, has several benefits, including:
- Simplifying the application process for seniors who need housing by eliminating the need for them to complete multiple housing application forms.
- Creating operational efficiencies so seniors can be housed more quickly.
- Providing more accurate government reporting for housing bodies by removing duplication of names on multiple waitlists.
- Improving the accuracy of statistics for government reporting, and subsequent funding.
The new portal has three main components:
- The Housing Finder
- The Housing Application
- Waitlist Management
The Housing Finder
Applicants input their housing criteria, whether for independent living without supports or supports such as housekeeping and meals, and the system creates a list of housing communities that meet those criteria. This list contains information about the community, a photo and pricing for the unit, as well as additional items such as parking.
The Housing Finder is available to use without an account so applicants can browse to see what is available.
The Housing Application
While the Housing Application looks much like a standard rental application form, it includes additional information that helps qualify the applicant for subsidized housing. The Housing Application requires an applicant to create an account and leads the applicant through the process with self-guided prompts.
Waitlist Management
The Waitlist Management component of the portal includes three main processes for housing bodies:
- Completing the Priority Ratings Score through interviews with applicants.
- Creating a virtual waitlist, customized to housing vacancies, with applicants listed in priority of need according to their housing preferences. This is critical to efficiently house applicants.
- Managing the intake and offer process, which involves monitoring the status of the application through the process of getting housing for both applicant and housing body.
Empowering seniors to manage the housing process
“We are thrilled that, for the first time, seniors can easily apply to multiple organizations at once for affordable Calgary housing online,” says Pam Urban, Senior Manager, Sales & Leasing Operations for Silvera.
“Never before have seniors been empowered in this way to seek affordable housing and to self-manage their application process,” she adds. “We expect the portal to help ensure those in need are safely and warmly housed at a much faster pace.”
Applicants can now be considered for vacancies that arise in any of the four housing providers’ 2,126 independent living units with kitchens or 775 independent living suites with supports including meals, weekly housekeeping and Life, Learning and Leisure programs.
“This kind of collaboration between housing management bodies makes such good sense,” says Marlys Jordan of Calgary Heritage Housing. “We share a customer base of low-to moderate income independent seniors as well as the fundamental goal of providing much needed housing. By showcasing our housing portfolios in one place, and processing housing applications together, we’re educating seniors about options, simplifying the application process, filling vacancies most efficiently, and welcoming folks home faster.”
Another remarkable partnership
Calgary software developer Sunwapta Solutions created the portal in partnership with Silvera, Onward, CHH and Bethany to ensure seniors in need of affordable housing can apply, monitor their application status, accept and decline housing offers, and manage the application process.
“Sunwapta has been an unbelievably committed partner in this process,” says Pam. “They worked hard to understand our customer, putting themselves in the shoes of the senior to ensure the system is intuitive. They jumped in with generous hearts, even donating some time to help us complete the project. Their dedication is unparalleled, and we are so grateful.”
The YYC Seniors Housing portal was funded by the Government of Canada under the Community Services Recovery Fund.