Starting November 2019, Boardwalk REIT and the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN) will work together to help newcomers find affordable housing when they move to Edmonton, Alberta.
For the next several years, Boardwalk will offer a three-year assistance program to newcomers referred through the EMCN. Following the third year, the REIT will give residents the opportunity to renegotiate their rent based on their file and current market conditions.
“As a community vector, Boardwalk will continue to support the integration of newcomers in the province. We’re very proud to have the opportunity to partner with the EMCN and to have a role in this process. We want everyone to feel at home.”, says Razvan Costin, Community Director for Boardwalk.
Boardwalk will continue to run background checks and credit checks as usual but will overlook the required rental history due to the little to no Canadian history. EMCN settlement workers will also be made available for assistance when needed and be invited to participate in showings and walkthroughs for full language comprehension when required.
Since 1980, the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers has grown from one and a half staff to over 230 full-time employees. Working with over 17,000 newcomers each year, the EMCN makes it their mission to make it easier for newcomers to learn English, find work, and settle into local communities.
“Every community member can contribute to making immigration integration services work better, along with the programs delivered by provincial and municipal governments.”, adds Costin.
The EMCN considers a newcomer as any person who has arrived in the Edmonton region within the last five years. This includes international professionals relocating here for work to refugees relocating for safety to Canadians migrating from other provinces.
To learn more about the EMCN and how they continue to support thousands of newcomers every year, please visit www.emcn.ab.ca.