Indwell spreads the gospel with a ‘Flourish’ launching affordable housing company

Go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

Indwell bills itself as a Christian charity, so a biblical quote seems in order in light of news from the Hamilton affordable housing organization.

A new not-for-profit company called Flourish has been created by Indwell, the organization known for building housing in the city, often by resurrecting decrepit properties.

The mission for Flourish is to spread Indwell's well-honed expertise to help build affordable living spaces for those in need, well beyond the city in southern Ontario.

It will operate as a social-purpose real estate development services company," said Graham Cubitt, who has been with Indwell 17 years and is now president of Flourish.

We are really good at developing compelling projects that people love to live in, so it's about using that experience on behalf of others, to help relieve the (housing) crisis that we are all now aware of and some individuals are painfully experiencing," he told The Spectator.

Indwell frequently receives calls from officials with municipalities and organizations outside Hamilton, seeking consultation on building affordable housing.

Cubitt suggested Flourish will deploy Indwell's knowledge more effectively.

The new company is located across Main Street East from Indwell, with a staff of 10 to help clients navigate site assessments, planning processes and organize community engagement.

Most work will be with the public or non-profit sector, but Cubitt said they might work with a private developer, if they have goals around affordable housing ... But we are not building condos to make money; it's developing social purpose projects that communities need."

Years ago, Cubitt studied at Redeemer University College in Hamilton, before moving to the U.K., where he did Christian mission work, and also worked at a psychiatric hospital.

When he returned to Hamilton, he joined Indwell and ultimately became director of projects and development.

The name of the new organization reflects the expansion of Indwell's reach, he suggested.

We believe everyone has the chance to flourish, and we want to see a future where there is no more pain and suffering, or lack of housing and homelessness. We want to be a catalyst for that, to achieve that flourishing future."

Jon Wells is a feature writer at The Spectator. jwells@thespec.com