Kehewin Tiny Homes Project plans to Educate while solving Homelessness
The Minister of Indigenous Relations, the Honourable Richard Feehan, toured Kehewin Cree Nation on Monday and was presented with a number of initiatives the Nation is working on; including the Tiny Homes Project. Eva John Gladue, representing the Tribal Chiefs Employment & Training Services Association was on hand to speak about the initiative and the first completed Tiny Home in Kehewin.
“There are people in our communities that are struggling, there are people living in our communities that are living in poverty,” Gladue explains there is a homelessness problem in Kehewin, and other First Nations, that she hopes the Tiny Homes initiative will help solve. “That’s where we need to focus, on the people who are being left behind. It is the First Nations’ people that are lagging behind in opportunities.”
The Tribal Chiefs Employment & Training Services Association (TCETSA) assist in eliminating barriers to full employment, assisting people in returning to school or the workplace and expects people to work. “In 2009, we did a study on our organization and alarmingly, we found that in one of our communities, 78 percent of the population was on social assistance. Meanwhile, the Province in this area was booming with opportunities. We said, we need to stop that. We need to take responsibility, first of all, because nobody’s going to come and hand us things. We need to be the ones driving the force.”
The organization works closely with Trade Winds, which assists people in furthering their skills through trades programs. “We knew we had to try something different,” together the organizations’ trainees build Tiny Homes, explains Gladue. “We did our first Tiny Homes build in Kehewin.” Trade Winds does the testing of adult basic education in order to see if the clients have the academics to progress in the trades. People must be 18 years old, with a Grade 10 Math, Science, and English. Along with an interest in the trades and a readiness, wiliness, and ability to learn.
Trade Winds then teaches the trainees the trades needed to build a house, “in this particular project, we took seven individuals.” Gladue explains for the first two weeks there is an orientation process with First Aid training, financial literacy, and employment readiness training, so they can make an informed career choice. Then the individuals go through a four week academic refresher to prepare them to write the Alberta Industry Training entrance exam.
Trainees then go through a seven week shop training trades program in either carpentry, electrical, plumbing, flooring, or painting theory; as well as hands on shop training. There is mentorship support and former students are often involved in the training. One success story of the current cycle is a former student, who now has his own plumbing business, has hired a candidate from the Tiny Homes project.
Kehewin is home to the first completed Tiny Home. The house is two rooms, kitchen/living space and bedroom with a bathroom. There has been many ideas for homes to be build throughout the Nation to help with the growing population. Whether that be young single individuals or elders. Since the project is still new there has not been a definite plan in place for the homes, once there is more; but the project will surely help in part with homelessness. “There is a lot of training invested in the Tiny Home; it’s not just a house, it’s so much more than that.”
After the Tiny Home is complete staff at TCETSA continue to assist the students until they get a full-time job. “The legacy is the little Tiny Home that is left in the community to house the homelessness that is happening in our communities.”
If you would like to learn more about the Tiny Homes project contact Trade Winds, tradewindstosuccess.ca or Tribal Chiefs Employment & Training Sevices Association 780-826-3333.
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