Spotlight: Brightside Homes

Brightside is one of Vancouver’s longest-standing non-profit housing societies, with nearly 70 years of experience providing affordable housing to seniors, families, and people with disabilities. Committed to providing safe and secure homes for those that may otherwise struggle to meet the demands of market housing, they are working towards a future where people of all income levels live within a vibrant and healthy community.

As a provider of below-market, subsidized homes in communities throughout Metro Vancouver, Brightside has an intimate understanding of the challenges confronting so many renters in one of the least affordable regions in the country.

Brightside is a values-based organization. Many of those struggling in our society are also the ones most susceptible to homelessness. As an organization dedicated to the values of inclusivity and social justice, it was a natural decision to become a certified Living Wage employer. To pay wages that are anything below a living wage would actually contribute or add to the very problem that it is our mission to help resolve. William Azaroff, Brightside Homes

A central tenet of their employment philosophy is the belief that all of their 30+ staff receive fair and competitive wages – a philosophy that made certification as a Living Wage Employer an obvious and easy decision.

With the public commitment and promise to provide, at a minimum, the living wage that accompanies Living Wage certification, current and prospective staff can be objectively confident that their work will be valued, they will receive fair compensation, and will be able to focus on thriving in their position.

It is clear that our employees feel a sense of pride in our Living Wage certification. Brightside is proud to be a Living Wage employer and to display signage at every one of our 26 buildings and the Brightside Head Office so all of our residents, suppliers and visitors know what we stand for. William Azaroff, Brightside Homes

For Brightside, the real opportunity is explaining this to their vendors. The more companies and organizations that sign on to be Living Wage certified, the more vendors and service providers will see that this is a trend worth paying attention to and as a result seek to change their own pay practices. For Brightside, any vendor that does not support the provision of a living wage for their staff is a vendor that is not aligned with their mission.