Native Men’s Residence opens affordable housing initiative for unhoused Indigenous men in converted Cabbagetown mansion

Native Men’s Residence (Na-Me-Res) officially opened the doors to an affordable housing property for marginalized Indigenous men in Cabbagetown on Monday.

The erstwhile Victorian mansion at 218 Carlton St. was built in 1877 and was formerly used as office space. The conversion to affordable housing units began in December 2022.

The property was acquired by the city as part of a “community benefits charge” agreement with MOD Developments, related to their redevelopment of 55-61 Charles St. E.

It was fully renovated by MOD Developments and transferred back to the city for use as permanent affordable rental housing.

Na-Me-Res won a call for proposals from the city for Indigenous housing providers to operate the residence. It will provide safe, secure and deeply affordable housing for former residents of Na-Me-Res shelters or Indigenous men who were living on the street.

The property has been given the Anishnawbe name Migize Pazaagwii Gamik, which translates into English as Uplifting Place of the Bald Eagle.

At the opening ceremony on Monday, Na-Me-Res executive director Steve Teekens explained how they chose the name.

“We approached an elder and gave them tobacco and asked them to come up with a good name for this new space that would be fitting for residents that are transitioning from various experiences of homelessness to getting housed. And that was the name the elder felt was most appropriate,” he said.

The property has nine self-contained bachelor and one-bedroom units.

Teekens said that as soon as they became available, the vacancies were filled almost immediately.

“I always say the cure to homelessness is quite simple – it’s housing,” said Teekens.

“We are very fortunate that we’re able to open up this house and were affected by minimal administrative processes to get this up and running, so Na-Me-Res is very pleased. This is helping us achieve part of our mission to help Indigenous men who are experiencing homelessness to be able to find affordable housing and live in a culturally safe space.”

When the redevelopment began two years ago, Teekens told CityNews that the organization will also provide a number of supports to the tenants to ensure they settle in to the community. This includes being assigned an aftercare worker, counselling and connections with local neighbourhood services that can be accessed when the worker isn’t available.

Mayor Olivia Chow said the apartments are “truly affordable.”

“[Rent is] a third of the residents income, not 80 per cent market rate. We’ve changed the affordability criteria that affordable is not market based. It’s based on the person’s income,” she said.

“This is a small but mighty example of what partnership between private sector and the city government and an agency like Na-Me-Res [can achieve].”