Norma Gamble likes to refer to herself as “a fellow traveller of this precious earth and compassionate member of the human race.” She also happens to be the executive director of Suite Living 360, an innovative, effective and affordable way to address housing for those aged 55 and over.
Her clients are mostly women who don’t want to spend a disproportionate percentage of their disposable income on housing. It’s also a great way to address the serious challenge of social isolation that’s faced by many women living on their own.
The non-profit repurposes larger single-family homes within established neighbourhoods. Gamble generally creates five single suites or units that often share an elegant common space.
“While we focus primarily on affordable housing, we also stress learning to lead a healthy, creative life, while enjoying a decent standard of living with independence, dignity, self-esteem and respect for oneself, others and the environment,” Gamble says.
While the initiative was embraced by the City of Hamilton, the 72-year-old finds the town of Oakville, where she lives, not as accepting of her housing solution nor as affordable.
Gamble emigrated to Canada from South Africa 43 years ago. When she arrived, she was appalled not only by the size of Canadian homes, but by the fact that often these homes were lived in by just two to three people.
She laments the choice Canadians made by following the United States’ lead of large homes, multiple cars, big box stores with massive parking lots, and endless highways facilitating unbridled suburban sprawl. Instead, Gamble would have preferred the walkable neighbourhood designs common throughout Europe.
“While [Vienna] is an expensive city, there are thousands of affordable housing units that people from every income level are proud to live in,” she said, adding, “public transit is so amazing that there is absolutely no need for a car.”
Gamble decided to walk the talk 25 years ago when she began purchasing older, large homes in need of some tender love and care. Hamilton house prices made it possible to pick up one of these gems for a song.
Eventually, Gamble repurposed seven single-family homes into 24 elegant units with common spaces. The importance of these common spaces cannot be overemphasized because it prevents the social isolation women living on their own in high-rise apartments often experience.
Gamble, who has been a Rotarian for over 30 years, worked with her Oakville Rotary Club on another very creative and extremely meaningful venture. At the time, women and their children could stay at Halton Women’s Place, a local shelter, for up to six weeks. After that, most went into local motels, social housing or less than desirable apartments.
She astutely realized this was a contributing factor to the cycle of domestic violence, because without decent long-term housing, women felt they had no other choice but to return to their abusers.
That realization inspired Gamble to come up with a plan to disrupt the cycle. Partnering with Sheridan College’s interior design program, Gamble matched students with shelter clients and created teams that made over the new living spaces the women and their children would transition into.
Rotary provided funding to the tune of $1,000 for each of the projects, but when combined with donations sourced by the students these teams created wonderful, inviting, livable spaces together.
It was a win-win situation. Students got real world experience and a portfolio. Meanwhile, eighteen homes were design for women and their children to start their new lives.
Over the three years the program was in place, not one woman returned to their abusive partner.
Over fifteen years ago, Gamble and a friend started the not-for-profit Home Suite Hope. Together they were able to house five homeless men in a town house in an established Oakville neighbourhood. That housing arrangement remains a thriving part of the community.
Now she wants to turn her creative energies to designing spaces for older women living in Oakville. She says the perfect recipe is five women, one house, and a shared car situated within a walkable neighbourhood.
Gamble also sees potential for women sharing space to make a moderate income, whether it’s growing vegetables on the property to sell, selling homemade meals and baking, or providing after-school care.
Effectively tackling the current housing crisis across the Golden Horseshoe is going to require more than simply addressing supply alone. The provincial government needs to proactively address availability as well as affordability by building social housing.
In 1982, 20 social houses were built for every 100 market houses. By 1993, that number dropped to 14 or 15 units. By 2010, less than two social houses were built per 100 market homes. Essentially, social housing no longer exists in Ontario due to years-long waitlists.
This lack of affordable housing increased precarity at the lowest income levels. To correct this mistake, there needs to be an overhaul of the official plans to include all income levels in all neighbourhoods.
“We need to avoid economic segregation. If your income goes down people shouldn’t have to move to another part of their city or even another city,” according to Phil Pothen, Ontario environmental program manager with Environmental Defence. “Yet, without diversity of housing costs that’s what happens.”
Pothen points out that legislation, in the form of Section 1.1.3.8 of the 2020 Provincial Policy Statement, prohibits boundary expansion when population increases can be accommodated within the existing urban boundary.
Creating affordable, individual units within existing homes, as Gamble suggests, and creating garden suites, laneway suites, or additional dwelling units, is a very effective, efficient, environmentally friendly way to house more people while waiting for social housing units that are not even on the provincial government’s sprawling radar.
When single women of a certain age have choices, including embracing co-living within their current community, that has the potential to bring more single-family homes onto the market.
In 2019, MPP Lindsey Park removed one last hurdle when she successfully introduced The Golden Girls Act, preventing municipalities from using bylaws to prohibit seniors from co-living.
Now all that stands between Gamble and her next repurposing project is the money to purchase a 3,000 plus square-foot home with potential for an additional dwelling unit. That’s how increased gentle density is created.
Oakville council has a fund for affordable housing; Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has programs; or maybe there’s a benefactor who recognizes the benefits affordable co-living brings to communities and the way it addresses affordable housing for seniors during a housing supply and affordability crisis.
“With developers banking land; numbered corporations buying buildings that sit empty; and renovictions pushing rents higher and people into homelessness, we need to remind government that where we choose to spend our money is a reflection of our values,” Gamble said. “Utilizing existing space better, allowing women to age in-place and work or volunteer in their community—isn’t this the type of society and community we want to create?”
Learn more about Housing as a Human Right – A Social Commons Approach by attending Poverty Free Halton’s panel discussion on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. E.S.T.
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