How You Can Help
ASCHA provides tools and resources to assist our members in advocating for the support they need to offer the very best seniors and community housing options across Alberta. Lending your voice, or allied organization’s voice, to our collective efforts is critical. Powerful advocacy messages contain the “why,” as in why it is important to you (your community, organization, etc.). Sharing these stories puts the advocacy in a context that is both meaningful and memorable.
Simply engaging with ASCHA’s content on social media is a way to amplify our key messages. Our current hashtag for our ongoing advocacy efforts is #ABSupportsHousing.
You can join our association in its mission to ensure Albertans are supported with affordability, supported while they age, and supported through the appropriate housing and supports.
Pre-Election Advocacy Tool for Residents – Developed for the 2023 provincial election, here is a list of key questions that remain relevant to ask MLAs. The more people asking these critical questions, the more housing is recognized as the critical issue it continues to be for Albertans.
Public Advocacy Tools – Coming Soon!
Other Ways You Can Help
Recognize affordable housing as a keystone to building desirable, livable communities. When individuals and families are not struggling to afford shelter, they can tackle other personal issues and address other stressors to their wellbeing, without needing to leave their community to access other supports.
Affirm that safe, appropriate housing is a fundamental human right. We recognize that housing is essential to people's inherent dignity and well-being and must respond to their family size and needs.
Acknowledge affordable housing’s role in supporting local economies. Affordable housing boosts local economies by increasing the purchasing power of residents and by attracting employers with the promise of a stable workforce. Tenants in affordable housing have greater chances to find and keep jobs, to learn and develop skills, and be active participants in their communities.
Understand the different roles of governments and hold governments accountable to these roles and responsibilities to address housing issues. To meet current affordable housing demands to address the rising housing crises across Canada, Federal and Provincial Governments need to provide predictable and cost-shared funding, while municipal governments need to provide supports such as land, streamlined processes and development cost waivers.
Accept the evidence that affordable housing has positive or neutral effects on the values of surrounding properties. With good management, affordable housing in the right setting can dramatically improve the attractiveness of communities when it is not in excessive concentration or ignored all together.
Begin to talk about seniors housing outside the content of Long-Term Care. Seniors housing is NOT Long-Term Care. Options across the continuum need to be understood and differentiated, with an appreciation for how each option has a role in the full spectrum of service and supports available to seniors.
Ensure that a person has access to the same service options and health care supports, regardless of where they live.
