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WHILE Christian anti-homelessness activists held court
on the grounds of Vancouver City Hall (see opposite page), several hundred
like-minded folk met to consider practical ways of combating the problem.
The Church and Affordable Housing conference, held
October 17 – 18 at Broadway Church, dealt with a number of topics,
including: Biblical Perspectives on Working Toward an Eco-village in Metro
Vancouver; What Works to Permanently House the Chronically Homeless?;
God’s Heart for Refugees Includes Housing – Does Ours?; and
Ending Homelessness in 10 Years: We Can Do It Here Too!
Plenary speakers were David Collins, founder of
Paradigm Ministries; Mary Nelson, co-founder of Bethel New Life in Chicago;
and Michael Brown, of Burlington Associates.
One key concept under discussion was the Christian
Housing Trust. Jonathan Bird of Shalom Seekers outlined the initiative:
“The Christian community has significant
foundational assets for partnering with philanthropists to end homelessness
and supply affordable housing.”
The proposed trust, he said, would “foster
collaboration; give us greater freedom to pursue our distinctive values and
priorities; nurture innovation and excellence; and pool assets for greater
impact.”
The “centrepiece,” Bird noted, would be a
Christian Community Land Trust.
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The land trust would “acquire existing
family-oriented affordable rental complexes mortgage-free, and then use
positive cash flow from these to grant down-payment subsidies for low and
moderate income families to purchase entry-level condominiums.”
Contact: shalomseekers.com.
– David F. Dawes
November 2008
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