2023 marked our 50th Anniversary of helping to house Native Families and Elders.
Our housing program is the 2nd oldest Aboriginal housing provider in Ontario.
History
Persons of Native Ancestry routinely face discrimination when searching for rental accommodations in urban centers and many of them end up living in substandard, unsafe dwellings.
The Corporation was established as a Non-Profit Charitable Organization on February 26, 1972. Working together with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Urban Native Housing Program, the Ministry of Housing and the Thunder Bay District Housing Corporation, homes were purchased and subsequently rented to Indigenous families and Elders in 1973.
Since those early years, the Corporation has grown the housing program and as of 2022, it now owns and provides administration for a total of 242 housing units throughout the city of Thunder Bay, which includes an Elders complex of sixteen (16), one-bedroom apartments.
Besides the benefit of providing safe and affordable housing for the Native community, Native People of Thunder Bay Development Corporation (Urban Native Housing Program) fosters a greater cultural understanding between Native and Non-Native social housing programs.
Where available, many tenants take the opportunity to upgrade education and employment skills and the use of medical services while residing in rental housing.
The Urban Native Housing Program also allows Native tenants access to liaison services to assist with difficulties or concerns faced in a (sometimes unfamiliar) urban setting.
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