The Rotary Club of St. Catharines celebrated its 100th birthday in 2021 and a goal to celebrate the club’s Centennial was to commit funding for a project that would address the significant need in the community for affordable housing.

With a contribution of $500,000, the most significant donation in the Club’s history, the Rotary Club of St. Catharines is pleased to announce a partnership with the Niagara Community Foundation and Bethlehem Housing and Support Services to establish an endowment fund that will support their new Housing Affordability Assistance program (HAAP). The Fund shall be known as The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Bethlehem Housing & Support Services Rent Stabilization Fund.

Otherwise known as a Rent Bank, the program will assist eligible individuals and families with costs that are barriers to housing transitions. For example, a low-income household may not be able to move into permanent housing due to the extra costs for moving or do not have enough money for a last month rent deposit; the HAAP program will assist the family with these costs to help them move forward and into their permanent home.

Margaret Jarrell, Chair of Rotary’s Centennial Committee, notes “As a long-standing service organization in St. Catharines, we are proud to be taking important steps to give families a hand-up and make an impact in reducing barriers to affordable housing.”

The donation from the Rotary Club of St. Catharines will be endowed in perpetuity with Niagara Community Foundation (NCF). NCF is a philanthropic leader in Niagara connecting donors to causes and communities to resources through permanent, yet flexible, income-earning endowment funds. Bringing together the generosity of over 400 fundholders, NCF has raised over $82.3 million in donations and has granted in excess of $27.5 million to charities since it was founded in 2000. NCF grants to registered charities working in the arts, heritage, environment, social services, health, education and community development sectors.

The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Bethlehem Housing & Support Services Rent Stabilization Fund will have an annual income distribution released to BHSS where it will be restricted as a reserve to reduce housing barriers for eligible client households. BHSS staff and Board of Directors will manage and approve household applications for the funds. Applicants will be economically challenged families that have applied and been accepted for a transition to new affordable housing but are facing barriers such as moving costs or Last Month’s Rent Deposit (LMR). The fund will provide a grant to the family that will help them move forward and into their forever home. Some families experience a situational event that can cause rent arrears. In most cases this can lead to evictions. BHSS works from an eviction and homelessness prevention framework and this fund will allow a loan or grant opportunity for these eligible families to pay back their arrears and sustain their housing.

Lori Beech, Executive Director of Bethlehem Housing & Support Services states, “On behalf of the families we serve, the BHSS staff and Board of Directors are truly grateful to the Rotary Club of St. Catharines for this additional tool for our eviction prevention toolbox. We will be able to offer a lifeline to our struggling families and keep them housed.”

To find out more about Bethlehem Housing and Support Services, click here.