Alberta cities need a long-term solution to shelter the homeless

The flickering of festive lights in red, green and gold in Alberta’s two major city centers is little comfort to thousands of homeless people trying to survive another winter cold snap.

On a frigid December night in Calgary, shoppers carried gifts along the downtown light rail corridor, passing dozens of people huddled at entrances or near heated bus stops.

Three people, surrounded by shopping carts, used cardboard boxes and an umbrella to try to keep warm. It was -28 C with wind chill.

Homeless shelters are close to capacity, but open their doors to everyone when the temperatures get unbearable. Still, some choose to stay outside.

Dakota Casey said it’s safer that way.

“They stole food from me, they stole my phone from my pocket. They lost money and people took my boots off while I sleep, the backpack from under my head,” he told The Canadian Press.

Casey and her husband, Nathan Lunn, know there are dangers to sleeping outside, too, taking turns staying awake to stay safe.

The unrelenting cold is a constant threat. Casey was recently treated for frostbite on his hands.

A tent donated by the nonprofit aid agency BeTheChangeYYC will make life outside a little better, Casey said.

“Right now it’s just survival … if I sleep in a tent for Christmas and have to use motor oil to warm me up, you know what? That and my husband is all I really care about having.”

‘Danger or Promise’: A long-term solution is needed to help the #helpless in the cities of #Alberta. #ABPoli

Chaz Smith, founder of BeTheChangeYYC, was once homeless. His team has helped more than 15,000 people this year with emergency supplies and warming.

“It’s extremely dangerous, especially if you get a little wet,” Smith said. “They are people too, and they deserve a home. They deserve warmth. Nobody deserves to be out here and suffer frostbite and amputations and die outside in the cold.”

Tim Richter, CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, said the homeless sector has been hit hard for the past two years and the Omicron COVID-19 variant now poses a higher risk.

He said that homeless camps are growing across Canada and more people are homeless. There are also aggravated crises as housing affordability deteriorates and drug overdose deaths rise.

We’re at the point of “danger or promise,” Richter said. Either the various threats continue to drive homelessness, or communities and multiple levels of government deliver on their promises to address the challenge.

In October of last year, Ottawa announced $ 500 million for express housing in 15 Canadian cities, including Edmonton and Calgary. That showed how quickly support can be provided, Richter said.

Both Alberta cities will also receive funding from the provincial government. The province said in November it would spend $ 21.5 million to ease capacity problems at homeless and women’s shelters.

This month, the Calgary City Council approved $ 750,000 in emergency funding to help the homeless.

Commitments must not only be maintained but also expanded to urgently address the growing crisis, Richter said. Otherwise, danger will prevail.

In Edmonton, the freezing rain that hit the city in early December turned green places where homeless people had pitched hard, icy tents.

On the hillside of a river valley park, a tarp hung from the branch of a fallen tree. The ice made it difficult for a Boyle Street Community Services social worker to climb the hill to check for potential occupants.

No one was inside when DougCooke opened one side of the store. Someone’s belongings were scattered on a foam mattress and in the surrounding snow. Clothes, cigarettes, and food packages froze to the ground.

There were similar configurations propped up in the center. A man with a blanket covering his head was sitting near the vents expelling hot air.

Jared Tkachuk, Senior Program Manager at Boyle Street, said COVID-19 has reduced space in shelters, leaving hundreds unable to find shelter, including an influx of people finding themselves homeless for the first time after losing their jobs. during the pandemic.

The risk of dying outside is high and some lives have already been lost, if not from freezing, then from fires lit to keep warm, Tkachuk said. The gangs also take advantage of the camps.

“Homelessness can be solved with housing. If these people have four walls and a roof over their head … they will be fine,” he said.

“But a lot of the people the outreach teams are working with, who sleep outside for years … (they) are actually looking for a home. They are looking for a community.”

It’s not just an urban problem, said Dean Kurpjuweit, CEO of Mustard Seed, a nonprofit that supports the poor and homeless in Edmonton.

He said the pandemic has exposed a lack of funding and services in certain jurisdictions, especially in rural areas.

In Wetaskiwin, southeast of Edmonton, that shortage delayed the opening of a warm shelter while dozens slept in an open-air camp.

“I am satisfied with the band-aids that have been put in place, but that will not fix the problem in the long term,” said Kurpjuweit, who fears that increased support during COVID-19 will fade when a semblance of normalcy returns.

“If our homeless population across the province doubled, if it didn’t triple, what are we doing to change that?”

This Canadian Press report was first published on December 22, 2021.

Reference-www.nationalobserver.com

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