Photo: City of Grande Prairie

By Emily Keller

rising above

Group home applications approved by City

Jan 22, 2020 | 5:30 AM

Two group homes have been approved by City Hall to operate in Grande Prairie.

The homes are in a duplex and are run by Rising Above Ministries, who currently operate other group homes in the city as well.

Mel Siggelkow, Executive Director of Rising Above, says they did do their part to communicate with the community surrounding the two group homes that were approved on Tuesday.

“We’ve had an open house, we’ve had three of them actually, inviting members of the community to come and just ask questions and dialogue together and work together on what would be their responsibility, what would be our responsibility as the organization, what is the responsibility to those that are living in the house, and we’ve had some very good dialogue back and forth.”

In September of 2019, a different group home, also ran by Rising Above, was given official group status.

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Siggelkow says the first decision in September was appealed after significant concern was raised by neighbours.

“When it came to appeal, the appeal committee voted in favour of continuing on with the application and so, we are still there in that community and community relationships are going well.”

Back in September, a point of contention regarding the change of use to a group home was the City’s definition of what a group home is. The land-use bylaw states a group home to be for developmentally challenged persons or for foster children while Rising Above’s is aimed at addiction and mental health recovery.

After the approval was made regarding the two group homes on Tuesday, the Infrastructure and Economic Development Committee discussed the potential to change the definitions to various social housing situations and uses.

The Committee directed Administration to review the bylaws in other cities and return with recommendations for potential changes to the current definitions.

The recommended change to the Group Home definition was an “authorized, licensed or certified by provincial authority to provide room and board for up to six (6) residents with mental, social, or behavioural problems that require professional care, guidance, and supervision.”

Siggelkow says he did feel this discussion was prompted by their group home application, and that they were concerned at first.

“I like the direction that they’re going, clarifying and defining those a little more clearly and that that’ll just solve some of those issues that, we probably wouldn’t have gone to appeal, had we had some of these definitions to work with.”