Greetings!

I hope this note finds you well. A few days ago, I read a quote by St. Francis that resonated with me. It goes, “Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” If each one of us takes small positive steps to beat the challenges we face each day, we can create a wonderful world of possibilities around us. There is so much uncertainty, fear, and confusion occurring worldwide that we forget the importance of the present moment.

My heart goes out to the families who have ties in Ukraine. There are atrocities taking place and families being displaced. We see how one wrong decision has impacted the lives of millions of people forever. As well, we keep hearing about discoveries of burial sites at residential schools throughout Canada. I hope people impacted by both of these extreme situations find hope, peace, and stay strong for their loved ones.

I hear a lot about the long waitlist to move into one of our homes. I want to assure you, we are committed to addressing this issue and getting our housing stock “rent ready.” I cannot promise each family on the waitlist will get a place with us, as I know the housing need is enormous. It will take a long time before we can confidently say we supported the majority of families on our waitlist. Do not give up and do not stop communicating with our Tenant Administration Department to update your information. In the past, as the result of missing or incorrect information, we were not able to contact families on the waitlist when new homes became available for rent. The house was then offered to the next family on the waitlist; hence, the wait for some families never ends.

This spring, we will be launching a routine survey tool to capture tenant satisfaction. We look forward to your feedback.
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Alberta has lifted most of the COVID-19 restrictions now; I hope you all enjoy spring to the fullest and stay safe and healthy. From all of us at MĂ©tis Housing, we welcome all new residents and wish you a happy spring!

Sincerely,
Bindu Bonneau

Senior Director of Operations
DRAYDEN INSURANCE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Congratulations to the four deserving winners of the Drayden Scholarship. We would say “lucky winners,” but in this case there is no luck involved. Each of these winners has been nominated and chosen because they deserve it.

  • Braden Letendre
  • Kaitlin Arnfinson
  • Melissa Raskaukas
  • Joel Poirier

Drayden Insurance has graciously created a scholarship to better support MĂ©tis post-secondary students in their academic careers. These four students will receive a $1,000 scholarship towards their tuition – two students through MĂ©tis Urban Housing Corporation and two through MĂ©tis Capital Housing Corporation.

We know you are going to go far in life!
INTRODUCTIONS
ANGIE ERSKINE
Central Region
Housing Manager

Angie Erskine is our new Central Region Housing Manager.

Angie brings with her a wealth of experience both in and out of the industry that transfers over effortlessly into her role.

Angie started her professional career in the oilfield. Fueled by a desire to spend more time with her family and serve her community, Angie made the move over to affordable housing.

For the past 10 years, Angie has mainly worked in affordable seniors housing. She has held many different roles ranging from onsite property management to housing placement. Her passion for housing extends to her private life as well. Angie has travelled with Habitat for Humanity to Mexico to build homes on several occasions.

When Angie isn’t working hard to ensure that everyone is housed with dignity, she loves being with her four daughters and her grandchildren. She also loves to be with her horses, in her garden, and tend to her many indoor plants.

We’re so glad to have Angie on the team! She's a great addition!
BRAD SCHOLTEN
Capital Development and
Operations Manager 

Brad Scholten joined us in January as a Construction Management Advisor. After only a couple months he moved up to his present role as Capital Development and Operations Manager for MUHC.

Working with his hands is not new to Brad. He grew up landscaping and lobster fishing in Saint John, NB before moving away for school. Brad is educated in Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering. Brad has worked on several large projects including, but not limited to, the Walterdale Bridge, Windsor’s Essex Parkway, Anthony Henday ring road, Regina’s ring road, Ontario’s highways, Alberta’s oilsands, Hwy 63, mines, and the list goes on.

Outside of work, Brad loves to travel – Brad and his wife spent a year travelling around Southeast Asia before having their two kids. He also loves to hunt, camp, boat, fish, and more than anything spend time with his family and friends.

We are looking forward to seeing everything that we can accomplish together!
HOUSING REMINDERS
TENANT INSURANCE

A reminder that all tenants must obtain tenant's insurance. Tenants may purchase insurance from a company of their choosing, or MĂ©tis Housing can provide tenant insurance through our broker. A nominal monthly premium is added to your monthly rent if you purchase insurance from us.
 
ANNUAL INSPECTIONS

We take our responsibility to provide quality housing for our residents very seriously. One way that we do this is by ensuring our properties stay in great condition through annual inspections and interior home visits.

  • INTERIOR HOME VISITS will be starting in March/April
  • ANNUAL MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS will be starting in May

You will receive a notice shortly with a specific date and time.

 
SUMMER STUDENT JOBS
We have summer student job opportunities in both Calgary and Edmonton!

Are you a full-time Métis student returning to full-time schooling in the fall?


We have 5 positions available

CALGARY:
  • Tenant Administration Assistant

EDMONTON:
  • Tenant Administration Assistant
  • HR Assistant
  • 2 Maintenance Technicians


Do you have?
  • An understanding and knowledge of public social housing programs and other programs and services offered by the MĂ©tis Nation of Alberta.
  • Cross cultural sensitivity and awareness.
  • Proficiency in the use of computer programs such as MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), MS Outlook, and the internet.
  • Proficiency in the use of office equipment such as computers, voice mail, fax, scanner and photo copier.
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If so, you may be perfect these roles.

Please send your resume to hr@metishousing.ca
MESSAGE FROM OUR HOUSING RESOURCE WORKER
Self-talk is your inner voice that influences your thoughts, values, beliefs, questions, ideas and most importantly, how you view yourself and the world you live in.

Positive self-talk can be beneficial to your overall mental health and physical health. It can reduce stress and improve your quality of life. You can learn to shift your inner dialogue from negative to positive.

You must first identify negative thinking. Negative self-talk generally falls into four categories:
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  1. Personalizing - You blame yourself for everything.
  2. Magnifying - You focus on the negative aspects of a situation, ignoring the positive.
  3. Catastrophizing - You expect the worst, and you rarely let logic or reason persuade you otherwise.
  4. Polarizing - You see the world in black and white. There’s nothing in between and no middle ground for processing and categorizing life events.

Once you can identify your negative thinking, you can begin to turn it around. This task requires practice and time. The good news is that it can be done. When you catch yourself engaging in negative inner dialogue, you can flip it from negative to positive.

Some examples:

Negative: I am a disappointment to my family; I can’t even attend family events.
Positive: I know the importance of taking care of myself, my family will understand.

Negative: I can’t do this job.
Positive: I am proud of myself for trying to do the job.

These are just some ways you can start to shift your inner dialogue. Achieving this will help you handle stressful situations and make problem solving easier. 

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you need help or would like assistance connecting to resources. You can reach me at 780-918-7149.
 
Sincerely,
Kathy Rosero Suelt
Housing Resource Worker
We wish everyone a wonderful spring đŸŒŒ
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