Ainsley Chapman, Executive Director, Evangel Hall Mission
As more and more church properties are being sold to developers and private owners for housing or businesses, churches across the country, in big cities and in small rural communities and of all denominations, have started an important conversation about the future of their church land and buildings. One of those conversations is the potential of redeveloping church land to help provide affordable housing to help slow the housing crisis, even if it means there are less financial resources made from the property.
This is an exciting time to be dreaming and planning for the future of our neighbourhoods and considering the legacy we want our congregations to leave in the years to come. As we dream of what might happen with these important church resources, we want to be sure sure that we are investing in community.
Throughout history, churches have helped build community, not only by offering outreach ministries and services to vulnerable people themselves, but also by offering physical spaces for free and/or at affordable costs for other agencies offering activities vital a community’s health. Affordable spaces are needed by local community groups and public health agencies to provide programs for addiction treatment and support groups, grief groups, vaccination clinics, food banks, and health education programs. These are places where daycares can offer affordable and safe care close to home. They are places where newcomers can take English classes and kids can access after-school tutoring. They are spaces that can be rented at affordable rates to small business owners who offer classes in music, dance, yoga, and fitness, who rent kitchens for community cooking and nutrition activities, or even to make food that they sell to cafes or affordable meal programs. They are places where we can encourage everyone to vote by offering polling sites close to home.
In any redevelopment plans for a church property, whether for housing for profit or building affordable housing we need to consider what the community loses, if those affordable and accessible spaces are lost.
The push to build as much as we can, as quickly as we can, fueled in part by developers maximizing profits means that as community spaces have been converted to houses, condos or rental units, communities have been losing affordable community spaces at a rapid pace. Places renting spaces for charities daycares and other community-centered programs are being evicted and replacement space is becoming harder to find. Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and agencies that offer health education are finding they have to secure space further and further away from the people they are serving. It’s not only charities; small business owners are struggling to find affordable spaces to build their enterprises and risk losing all they’ve worked to build. Many of these businesses are owned by women who built their companies around the flexibility it offers to them as caregivers or are working meet niche needs in the community.
As we dream of a new future for our communities, we also need to consider spaces have we lost in the community in the last decade. What do we risk losing when new development projects dosn’t include spaces that can be used by the community? Governments and private developers can put up four walls and a roof, but it takes vision, spirit, imagination, bravery, humility, partnerships, and heart, to build a community. While affordable homes are needed, community spaces are where healing and connections are made also must be considered. Community spaces build strong communities, and strong communities prevent homelessness. And building in a way that creates and strengthens community, is what is going to create a power legacy that will last for generations.
About Evangel Hall Mission
Evangel Hall Mission (EHM) is a mission of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, established in 1913 in downtown Toronto. From its beginnings as a small soup kitchen, it social programs have grown from meeting the daily needs of the homeless to providing housing to over 165 formerly homeless men, women, and children.
EHM is advocating to reduce homelessness in Toronto and beyond and equipping ministers and lay leaders to consider the legacy their churches can leave as they dream about a new future for their community.
To learn more about EHM’s housing advocacy and what to think about when planning a new development, contact:
Ainsley Chapman, Executive Director
ainsley.chapman@evangelhall.ca or 416-504-3563
