New Dawn among partners in CBU research initiative on affordable housing

Study aims to understand which affordable housing models create the best social and economic impacts for affordable housing tenants.

New Dawn Enterprises, the Community Entity on Homelessness, Cape Breton Community Housing Association, Daniela Kempkens, and Public Health, are among the local community partners of a Cape Breton University five-year, $1.3-million national SSHRC-CHMC research initiative on affordable rental housing models in Canada. The study aims to understand which affordable housing models create the best social and economic impacts for affordable housing tenants.

New Dawn has been working with Catherine Leviten-Reid, Project Head, throughout the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) application process which began about a year ago.

“Our interest in this national research initiative was derived from the amount of respect we have for Catherine and her work in the community and knowing that the results that emerge from this study will guide our future decision making as a community economic development organization and an affordable housing provider,” says Erika Shea, Vice President Development, New Dawn Enterprises. “At the same time, it offers us the opportunity to meet other non-profit housing providers from other parts of Canada and understand both their challenges and their best practices.”

Our role includes:

  • Serving as co-chair of the Atlantic Canada academic-community research group;
  • As a community partner, participating in the general development of the work including the engagement of our residential tenants in surveys/interviews/conversations; and
  • Sharing the interim and final research results through our communication and social media channels.