SOLIDES was set up in 2000 by the Comité Logement Rive-Sud, an organization promoting tenants’ rights and developing social housing. The main function of SOLIDES is to provide the greatest number of tenants with quality housing at an affordable cost. To do this two strategies are used:

1) SOLIDES purchases private buildings, provides rigorous management and reinvests the building’s income into quality improvements. Equity on these properties is often used to finance leasehold improvements or to finance new purchases.

2) SOLIDES also constructs or purchases and renovates residential buildings with the Government of Quebec’s social housing program, AccèsLogis.

Since its foundation SOLIDES has completed 19 projects. Two of these projects were new construction (91 units), 4 were purchases-renovations and 13 were simple purchases. Currently SOLIDES owns 36 buildings including a youth centre that is rented to a partner. In addition, with this partner SOLIDES operates a prevention program for homelessness for young people and adults.

With the exception of the specific groups mentioned above, SOLIDES helps all types of low- and middle- income tenants. Its 460 units are diverse (from small studios to large 4 bedrooms) and meet all needs. The vast majority of people who use SOLIDES services are low-income workers, welfare recipients, young people for whom it is their first apartment, pensioners, single-parents, newcomers to Canada and persons discriminated against by private owners. SOLIDES collaborates regularly with two groups of women from the South Shore and participates in various coalitions of community organizations.

A challenge arose when two buildings totaling 70 units went up for sale in Châteauguay. These buildings are inhabited by low-income households and needed to be protected from speculation, but also needed to be better managed and renovated. SOLIDES’ financial institution was willing to finance these acquisitions and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation was ready to guarantee these loans, however, SOLIDES ‘ did not have sufficient funds for the down payment of 15% as most of its equity is tied up in other buildings or was used for other acquisitions.

SOLIDES approached Community Forward Fund (CFF) by way of New Market Funds (NMF), an impact investing firm. Both CFF and NMF have objectives that SOLIDES identified with and tools meet their needs. SOLIDES found the teams easy to approach and very collaborative. Despite all of SOLIDES’ efforts with many institutions and many funds over 20 years, only NMF, CFF and our main financial institution, the Caisse d’économie solidaire, could offer the financing required to purchase the two buildings and convert the projects into success.

Because SOLIDES was able to purchase these two buildings, 70 households will be safe from speculation and the transformation of their homes into condominiums even if they are located downtown and close to all services. Furthermore, rent increases will be limited as much as possible as is the practice for all SOLIDES buildings.

Tenants will gradually see the quality of their buildings and housing improve. In fact, SOLIDES will start work, from the first days of operations, to protect the buildings against the infiltration of water and against the spread of fires. Improvements in the maintenance and management of buildings, tenants and the environment will also benefit the neighbourhood and the three schools that are nearby.

Photos and a live recording from the press conference can be found here. You can read more about SOLIDES impact in the community here in its annual report and here in its Economic Impact Report.

Tucker House, a local environmental group in the Ottawa region, is the proud recipient of the Community Forward Fund’s first loan.

Situated in the countryside on a former family estate, they have successfully run day camps for children in the summer and year-round programs for adults on energy efficiency and renewable energy for several years, taking over operations from a church group. Their growth has been slow and steady over the past five years as the focus has changed from faith-based to environmental, under the tutelage of a dynamic Executive Director and an engaged Carver-model board.

In 2009, the Ontario government created a Micro-FIT (Feed In Tariff) program that allows small organizations to feed electricity into the grid and be paid 80 cents per kilowatt hour.

The environmental group will use the loan to finance the purchase of solar panels. This will allow them to reduce their environmental footprint and be a role model for sustainability in the community. It will also provide them, over time, with a sustainable revenue stream. With the Micro-FIT program, solar panels would pay for themselves within 15 – 20 years and the organization needed the capital to purchase them.

Thanks to a loan from the Community Forward Fund, this dream has now become a reality.