Minna Kim, a single mother who now has good-quality affordable housing at the YWCA’s Como Lake Gardens development in Coquitlam, says the new housing ‘makes life so much better’ for the families who live there.
Photograph by: Lisa King , NOW
Almost everyone dreams of one day living in a safe and stable home.
That was also the hope for Minna Kim, a single mom living in Coquitlam.
But her financial situation made finding decent affordable housing a near-impossible task.
The mom admits she's lived in some pretty dodgy places in her nearly 10 years in the Tri-Cities, noting with one income, she's had to make her pennies stretch.
That's where the YWCA Metro Vancouver steps in.
This past spring, the organization opened Como Lake Gardens, its newest housing development in Coquitlam for single mothers.
Six months later, it's proven to be a blessing for Kim.
"Without this housing it would have been an endless cycle of poverty begetting poverty," she told The NOW.
Como Lake Gardens is a four-storey building with 30 units of mixed two-and three-bedroom apartments.
The priority is given to Coquitlam residents.
But as Kim explains, the building is more than just walls and paint - it's a community. She said all the moms co-exist and work together on
issues related to the building, while the YWCA provides a support worker to help link tenants with resources.
"Being that we're all from the same background, having that place for us, it just makes life so much better," she said.
"They really do want us to get ahead with our lives."
Best of all for Kim, a settlement worker in the Maple Ridge school district, she can keep her 13-year-old son at the same middle school in Coquitlam. She moved around a lot as a kid, and doesn't want the same for her own child.
Kim and the other women living in the building are allowed to stay until their children are out of school.
Though Como Lake Gardens has improved the lives of many women and children in the community, the YWCA notes the need for affordable housing in Coquitlam is very high.
Chantelle Krish, a YWCA spokeswoman, said the organization hopes there is continued commitment to develop housing for single moms in the community, noting the support the project had from city council.
"The land was donated and without this, over 30 women and their children would still be living in unstable conditions struggling to feed and clothe their children," she said.
As for Kim, she hopes one day to find the right person, get married and move on. Until then, she has no plans to leave her new home.
