Port Moody realtor Bill Laidler aims to help his clients achieve their home ownership dreams. But when one of his clients recently had to sell their home because of debt accumulated as a family member coped with illness, he thought there has to be a better way.
So Laidler created the Port Moody Community Society to help residents navigate a short-term financial crisis without having to sacrifice their home.
A member of the Port Moody Foundation’s board of directors, Laidler is intimately familiar with the community’s sense of caring. But the foundation’s charter limits its ability to help to donations to established organizations rather than individuals.
Laidler said the new society, which is being formally launched at a block party celebration Saturday, Aug. 31 at Brewers Row, will deal with applicants seeking assistance one-on-one, working with banks to arrange short-term, interest-free loans and increase their chance for a successful outcome.
That outcome could range from getting through a credit card crunch to saving their home, Laidler said.
“We want to give people time to restructure their debt,” he said. “It could just help them get on their way.”
Sydney Van Alstyne has been there, done that.
Or at least many of her millennial peers have. She said with the local housing market so expensive, a slight hiccup like illness in the family, an overextended credit card or temporary loss of income can be a financial death blow.
The society’s help, she said, will be more like an investment, ensuring more people will be able to stay in the community or keep their local business afloat.
“This will be a really close-to-home society,” said Van Alstyne, who’s working with Laidler to get the initiative off the ground and funded.
Laidler said the society won’t function as a charity that might be able to provide a financial bandage to a difficult situation; rather, it will try to help people wrestle the root of their predicament, giving them a footing from which to move forward.
And that’s good for the community as a whole, he said, adding, “It’s a bridge.”
• The summer block concert to benefit the new Port Moody Community Society will be held from 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday at 2713 Murray St. It will feature a beer garden sponsored by the Port Moody Foundation, the Taps & Tacos food truck, and live music. For tickets and more information go to eventbrite.ca.
