The Canadian housing crisis is no stranger to most areas across the country, but it doesn’t always manifest itself in the same ways. In Neepawa, where a recent housing study indicated that the community will be short almost 500 homes by 2028, rather than seeing unhoused residents we are seeing multiple families in single homes or large families in homes of insufficient size.
That municipal housing study, which was released in November of 2023 and is available on the Town of Neepawa’s website, also indicated that Neepawa’s population has consistently grown faster than its housing stock over the past 20 years, and not only that more Neepawa households live in unsuitable dwellings than they did in the recent past but that “the true scale of this issue is likely underrepresented in official data sources, as individuals living in illegal accommodations are unlikely to be forthcoming.”
NACTV has not just brought attention to this issue but worked with community organisations to bring potential solutions to the forefront as well. This has happened on multiple fronts, including amplifying housing and development resources, combating disinformation about housing regulations, and giving a voice to resident concerns around the issue. Newcomers are especially vulnerable to finding themselves in illegal accommodations, both through lack of access to affordable housing but also lack of information about what is and is not safe and permissible. Through programming in partnership with Neepawa and Area Immigrant Settlement Services and with the planning department, coverage of significant developments in housing including new builds and affordable housing programs, and conversations with municipal officials, NACTV can be a powerful force in finding a solution.
NACTV is continuing with this work into the future, and will soon be bringing the voices of home seekers, home developers, affordable housing advocates, and town administration together to have a conversation about where we go from here.
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About LJI
LJI Impact is the section of commediaportal.ca where the journalists and their organizations participating in CACTUS' Local Journalism Initiative can share their greatest successes.
Through the written stories, photos and videos you see in the LJI Impact section, you'll be able to read first hand accounts about how the presence of a community journalist is making a difference in communities across Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative and the Community Media Portal.
The Community Media Portal is a gateway to the audio-visual media created by community media centres across Canada. These include traditional community TV and radio stations, as well as online and new media production centres.
Community media are not-for-profit production hubs owned and operated by the communities they serve, established both to provide local content and reflection for their communities, as well as media training and access for ordinary citizens to the latest tools of media production, whether traditional TV and radio, social and online media, virtual reality, augmented reality or video games.
The Community Media Portal has been funded by the Local Journalism Initiative (the LJI) of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) in association with the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec (the Fédération). Under the LJI, over 100 journalists have been placed in underserved communities and asked to produce civic content that underpins Canadian democratic life.
