March 6, 2024
Homelessness
Alberta Provincial Estimations
Following a city council meeting presentation by the Rural Development Network (RDN) about the first-ever homelessness study in the city, more details have been released.
According to a release from city officials, the Homelessness Estimation Survey will be launched next week on Monday, March 11.
“Continuing to foster and build a caring community is one of our council priorities and supporting residents experiencing social vulnerability is an important part of that,” said Mayor Peter Brown. “This survey will provide us with an opportunity to learn more about members of our community who we don’t always have the chance to hear from.”
The survey will be conducted by RDN, which is a national nonprofit organization that specializes in identifying and addressing social needs in communities across Canada. Running from March 11 to April 24, the survey aims to address several issues including:
Housing insecurity and homelessness can look different in smaller communities than it does in larger urban centres and include those who are unsheltered, which is defined as living on the streets or in places not intended for human habitation, but also those who are emergency sheltered, defined as people who are staying in overnight shelters due to homelessness and/or family violence.
Other crucial differences include those who would be classified as provisionally accommodated, meaning people with accommodation that is temporary or lacks security, such as couch-surfing, people in domestic violence situations, etc, as well as those who are at risk of homelessness.
Anyone in the community who is currently experiencing any of the forms of housing insecurity above is encouraged to complete the survey online or in person at participating service providers in the community. More information on Airdrie’s Homelessness Estimation Survey, including a link to the survey and a list of participating agencies, can be found on the city’s website.
“Social service providers in Airdrie report that more and more community residents are experiencing housing insecurity and houselessness. Having accurate data on the needs of our community becomes increasingly important as we work towards ensuring everyone in Airdrie has safe, secure, and appropriate housing,” added Angela Angel, a social planner with the City of Airdrie.
RDN, will collect and analyze the data, and develop the report, which will be shared back with Council and the community in the fall of 2024.
Participating service providers in Airdrie will provide paper copies to community members, and it will also be available online. Survey respondents will remain anonymous.
Airdrie’s first Homelessness Estimation Study is set to commence in March with a final report anticipated in the fall of 2024 that will include actions to tackle Airdrie specific issues.
“Homelessness can be understood as a spectrum in which people can experience being unsheltered, emergency sheltered, provisionally accommodated, and at-risk of homelessness,” said Emma Wallace, the study project manager from the Rural Development Network (RDN), during the March 4 Airdrie City Council meeting.
The key aims of the Homelessness Estimation Study are to help the City of Airdrie quantify homelessness in Airdrie, determine what service gaps exist and link to and inform the City’s work on Airdrie’s 2024-2030 Affordable Housing Principled Action Plan.
The survey will commence mid-March and run for 45 days until the end of April 2024.
Participating service providers in Airdrie will provide paper copies to community members, and it will also be available online. Survey respondents will remain anonymous.
The survey uses the federal government’s definition of homelessness which is described as “the situation of an individual, family or community without stable, safe, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it.”
Once the survey period is completed, the data will be analyzed and a final report will be completed in July. That report will be shared with council and Airdrie residents in the fall of 2024. Next steps will be taken in the winter of 2024 based on study results.
“We want to be able to use this data to help advocacy purposes in applying for funding to prevent and respond to homelessness, and most importantly looking to elevate and incorporate the voices of folks experiencing homelessness and solutions to end homelessness,” Wallace said.
The top factors leading to homelessness in Calgary, which is the closest city to Airdrie with data on homelessness, included low incomes, lack of affordable housing, conflicts with a spouse, conflicts with landlords, or substance use issues.
Based on the 2022 National Point in Time Count, there were 6,649 Albertans experiencing homelessness across the seven major cities. Wallace said there is no homelessness data in Airdrie.
A study of 45 communities across Alberta in 2023 showed that 69 per cent of homeless respondents were employed in some capacity, which means sometimes having a job is not enough.
“In reality, people experiencing homelessness are much more likely to have experienced violence or be a victim of crime than be the ones committing the crime,” Wallace said. “This is a common misconception because people experiencing homelessness do often interact with the criminal justice system, but this is as a result of activities required for daily survival, which are criminalized, for example going to the bathroom in public, loitering, or trespassing.”
Wallace added that someone does not have to be sleeping outside or “sleeping rough” to be experiencing homelessness. Homeless individuals often avoid the streets or emergency shelters in fear of their safety and will couch surf or stay in unsafe or inadequate housing.
Coun. Al Jones pointed out that some homeless individuals may not have access to the online survey, to which Wallace said local service agencies like the library, Airdrie’s Genesis Place, a victim support centre, and the local food bank would be providing paper copies. RDN will also work with the City to determine any areas in the City they could visit to distribute paper copies of the survey.
Wallace said it’s important to have up to date information about the City’s homelessness situation in order to apply for funding for things like affordable housing, which is also a requirement for builders.
RDN is currently working with local service agencies to translate the survey based on the needs of their clientele.
Homelessness in rural areas is on the rise and many communities are facing the challenge of supporting community members in need with limited resources and funds. “A lot of people think homelessness only exists in urban centers but recent research from Dr. Rebecca Schiff provides evidence that rural homelessness is not only prevalent, but in fact occurring at per capita rates that are greater than some urban centres,” explains Sydney Stenekes, Director of Homelessness Initiatives at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
This is where Reaching Home funding comes in to benefit communities. Often, rural communities need to develop new programs, shelters, and food bank services to support those in need – but have limited access to the funding needed.
“People who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness shouldn’t have to leave their home community to access support in urban centers. We believe in developing and investing in housing and services in smaller communities so folks don’t have to leave their communities and social networks to access supports and appropriate housing,” declares Sydney.
What is Reaching Home funding?
“The Reaching Home project is part of the Federal Government’s Homelessness Strategy that distributes funding to rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Alberta, aimed at reducing and preventing homelessness across Canada,” Sydney explained.
The Reaching Home funding gets distributed to Alberta’s rural areas outside the seven major cities to support homelessness prevention and reduction. The Rural Development Network has been distributing funding for over 10 years to local organizations, municipalities, FCSS’s, Indigenous organizations, First Nations, and Métis communities across rural and remote Alberta.
How does the application process work?
The Reaching Home project strives to simplify the otherwise overwhelming process of applying for funds by making it as flexible as possible to suit and address the community’s needs.
According to Sydney, funds have supported innovative community driven solutions ranging from short-term immediate support to longer-term housing projects. As part of our organization’s commitment to reconciliation, the Reaching Home team has also been focusing on ways to ensure the application is more accessible to Indigenous communities and organizations.
Working alongside RDN’s Indigenous Liaison, Emele Neufeld and informed by feedback gathered from Indigenous partners and projects, the Reaching Home team revised the application process in 2022. The goal was to reduce barriers for Indigenous communities interested in applying for and accessing Reaching Home funding through offering culturally appropriate application and reporting methods and respecting Indigenous peoples’ oral traditions.” Recognizing that this is an important first step, the team acknowledges there is more work to be done and is committed to working towards decolonizing their approach to administering funding.
After applications have been submitted by rural, remote and Indigenous communities and organizations in Alberta, Sydney and her team present projects to the Regional Advisory Board, who are responsible for making decisions related to the funding.
“There are currently nine members on the board representing various rural, remote and Indigenous communities and positions in the housing & homelessness sector who bring their expertise to the table and are tasked with the difficult decisions on which projects receive funding,” Sydney explained.
Sydney also reiterated that even if a community is not successful with their application, her team’s intentions are to provide feedback to assist with future applications and offer to work with the community to support them with coordinating responses to homelessness, accessing alternative funding and connecting them to relevant resources. Recognizing that homelessness is a shared responsibility, Sydney and her team are consistently advocating for increased funding at various government levels to support the growing need to respond to rural homelessness.
Top 5 types of projects Reaching Home has funded to date
The Reaching Home team encourages applicants to be as creative as needed to address homelessness in their community. So far the top five projects that have been funded include the following:
Project Outcomes
In 2022-2023, Reaching Home Supported
Applications are now open for 2024-2026!
All eligible organizations and initiatives are invited and encouraged to apply for funding: Apply today! Have questions or not sure how to get started? Reach out directly to Sydney Stenekes.
It is no surprise that with the skyrocketing cost of living and the beginnings of a national housing crisis, homelessness has become a major problem across Canada. Homelessness is very visible in urban areas as it is common to see individuals sleeping in the streets, which is easier to identify than rural homelessness. Rural homelessness is more often concealed and can present itself as individuals couch-surfing or living in inadequate housing. It is more hidden and harder to casually recognize, which is why a professional homelessness estimation is necessary.
Even while employed, the increase in interest rates and utility costs makes it very difficult to own a home and even worse to rent. With various contributing factors to homelessness, having a roof over your head now seems like a luxury not many can afford.
“Based on the data from the provincial project, 69% of housing insecure respondents are employed. One of the common assumptions made of folks experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness is that they should get a job. When the reality is that we’re in a cost of living crisis, we are in a housing crisis and the data clearly shows that having a job simply isn’t enough anymore,” says Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
Given the complexities surrounding homelessness in rural areas and the varying ways it impacts communities, working with RDN to estimate homelessness in your community is a great way to get started.
The Rural Development Network’s Homelessness Estimations Project helps support rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Canada by measuring homelessness effectively.
When a community approaches RDN with concerns about homelessness, Emma and her team walk them through developing a survey, followed by identifying community organizations that can distribute and promote it. After 30 days, RDN will collect the surveys and analyze them to draft a final community report.
This whole process is a community effort that involves service providers, municipal governments, and folks experiencing homelessness. This methodology is based on the Step-by-Step Guide to Estimating Rural Homelessness.
“We developed the Step-by-Step Guide to estimating rural, remote and Indigenous homelessness in 2017 and it is the methodology that we use to support communities in understanding homelessness in their area and that came out of a need identified by rural communities,” says Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
Finally, based on an analysis of all the data collected and presented in the report, RDN develops a set of opportunities the community can undertake to address housing insecurity moving forward
A Homelessness Estimation has proven to be effective for communities struggling with resources and accurately identifying how many people are experiencing homelessness.
For example, a final estimations report contains valuable information for communities such as:
“Homelessness tends to present itself differently in rural areas. So in urban centers, it’s quite easy to just walk down a street and see folks who are unsheltered but in rural communities, we see a lot more people who are couch surfing, living in inadequate housing, and just experiencing really different types of homelessness,” Emma expressed.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
An estimation additionally helps give an accurate or representative portrayal of what people in the community are currently struggling with or experiencing in terms of housing insecurity.
“The estimation process provides folks experiencing homelessness with an opportunity to share their thoughts, insights, reflections and experiences that will ultimately influence the way a community addresses homelessness in the future,” adds Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
By including community members impacted by homelessness in the estimation, communities get an in-depth first-view perspective that is crucial in understanding the problem.
Many communities face challenges with providing evidence to support their applications for funding to support complex social issues. However, with the findings from a Homelessness Estimation report, communities can confidently apply for funding to begin developing solutions to address homelessness and housing insecurity. In other words, a Homelessness Estimation report can act as an evidence-based advocacy tool for communities.
For example, after Conklin, Alberta received a Homelessness Estimations report in 2018, Cenova created a 5-year $50 million project to address homelessness in their community. And, Drayton Valley used the data collected in their 2020 estimation report to secure funding for emergency shelter pods for those experiencing homelessness to find safe and warm refuge.
“I think one of the main values for communities in conducting an estimation is getting that big comprehensive picture of what homelessness looks like in their area – the who, why, and how many. Because of that communities can prove that homelessness exists in their area. They can access funding and start to develop solutions to address housing insecurity and homelessness in the community,” explains Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
By conducting an estimation, the final report can help communities identify what services are needed. These reports provide a data-driven foundation that highlights the necessary measures to be taken to support those who are housing insecure. As a result, communities can start to compare the existing services to what’s needed to identify and bridge the gaps in the services available.
For example, based on their estimations report, the Soaring Eagle Support Society in White Court was able to advocate to transition a motel into an emergency and transitional shelter for community members. And, Peace River opened their first emergency shelter based on the needs identified through their homelessness estimation.
“Communities also use these estimations to raise awareness within their communities about homelessness in their areas given its more hidden nature. So on a smaller scale, communities can improve on current programming. We also see a lot of collaborations between service providers coming out of an estimation project… Overall, I think we can say that meaningful and relevant data on rural, remote, and Indigenous homelessness is instrumental in supporting communities to address their needs,” says Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
Some communities have started to express interest in a community action plan which details step-by-step how a community can undertake some of the recommended opportunities provided in the final estimation report. This is the next step for the RDN team to continue to support communities and one that Emma’s team is already working on.
“In an estimations report, we will have a section typically where we highlight some opportunities that a community can undertake to address housing insecurity in their area moving forward based on the data in the report. But they don’t necessarily outline to a community, how they can actually action that…This is why we’ve started exploring with communities, who are interested and have the capacity to undertake this type of project,” explains Emma.
Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations at the Rural Development Network (RDN).
A community action plan would outline who needs to be involved including key partners, timelines, steps required to carry out the recommendations, and why it’s important to implement the recommendations. By receiving a community action plan, communities become better informed and equipped on what necessary next steps they need to take to address homelessness and support their housing insecure community members.
Reach out to Emma Wallace, Project Manager of Community Development and Homelessness Estimations, at emmaw@ruraldevelopment.ca for more information!
Emily Plihal – Local Journalism, Initiative Reporter
Out of the Cold Shelter in Peace River is facing temporary closure if they cannot secure funds to help them keep their services available through summer.
Located at 1010 – 100 Avenue in Peace River at the Sagitawa Friendship Society, the shelter provides a place for people in need to find refuge from outside elements and some warm food to nourish them. Unfortunately, they need to find extra funding or else the program will have to be halted until winter.
“The shelter was created to fill a gap in our community as there was no shelter for our vulnerable population,” explains Sagitawa Friendship Society executive director Marissa Geldart.
“Peace River is the hub of Northern Alberta, and we see many transient people from neighbouring communities, as well as our chronically homeless population that are local to our community. We are also two hours from the closest shelter located in Grande Prairie, over the past three years the shelter has become an essential service in our community,” she adds.
Geldart says that from April 1, 2022, to March 31 of this year, Out of the Cold Shelter had 239 clients access the shelter with 3,560 service visits. She notes this calculates to 9.78 clients per night.
Some of the concerns with the potential closure of the shelter is there will be nowhere for people to escape the excruciating heat of summer, they won’t be able to access safe housing to get off the streets, and they will have to struggle to find ways to access food, water, and shelter.
Geldart and Sagitawa Friendship Society president Krista Park-Stepaniuk say they were fortunate to receive funding through the federal government and the Rural Development Network to keep the shelter open year-round during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In November 2022, we received funding from the Alberta government and the Rural Development Network to operate the Out of the Cold Shelter for the winter months,” Geldart says, noting those funds have now lapsed, and the shelter is seeking assistance to keep its doors open through summer.
“As outlined in the Action Plan for Homelessness from the Alberta government, funding was provided for winter emergency response rather than year-round funding.”
The shelter is now asking for public donations to try to keep its doors open to help individuals year-round. Initially, they thought they would have to close the shelter on May 1 of this year. Geldart says a very generous donation from Lisa Jebb and Craig McNaughton allowed them to stay open longer than they were anticipating.
“At the shelter we provide a safe place to sleep, two meals a day (breakfast and dinner) and laundry services,” she says.
“Clients also have access to Outreach Services and through our other programming we can provide a wrap-around approach to ensure that clients are receiving the best possible care and support. The goal of the shelter and Outreach Services is to permanently house clients.”
The services provided are vital, individuals who require help with temporary housing, mental health assistance access, or assistance to find rehabilitation services can go to the shelter and provide direction.
Unfortunately, as outlined in the Action Plan for Homelessness from the Alberta government, funding was only provided for winter emergency response, not for year-round funding.
“We are still needing more funding to allow us to stay open for the duration of the summer,” says Geldart.
“Currently, we are seeking donations to allow us to stay open. If the shelter was to close, there would be a number of displaced individuals having to sleep rough or in other unsafe conditions. Peace River is home to the majority of our shelter clients, and they choose to stay in our community rather than going to a shelter in a larger urban area.”
At a recent Peace River town hall meeting, homelessness was one of the biggest concerns addressed by individuals.
The shelter helps reduce the number of people on the street at night, which helps reduce crime associated with desperation to attain basic necessities. It also reduces the number of calls police must attend to, because there are fewer people being put in dangerous situations because they have a safe place to sleep.
“In the fall of 2019, the Town of Peace River requested assistance from the AHS Environmental Public Health Inspector to advise on a small tent town that had been formed in the downtown area,” explains Park-Stepaniuk.
“The inspector formed a committee comprised of the executive directors of the Sagitawa Friendship Society and the Peace River Regional Women’s Shelter, the RCMP community liaison, and representatives of the Icare and Servants Heart Initiative. Most of the residents of the tent town were men and the only shelter open to men was 200 km away.”
Park-Stepaniuk says the committee realized the need and knew that transitional and accessible housing would be best, but the quickest way to help these people was to try to open a wet mat program, allowing men and women a safe place to sleep in cold months.
“While they could enter while under the influence, they would not be able to consume any intoxicants on site,” says Park-Stepaniuk, noting that they opened Jan. 13, 2020, during a -54C windchill evening in donated space with a dedicated group of volunteers.
“Both the Holy Family Catholic School Board and the Peace River United Church kindly donated the use of their space. The community members supported the shelter with many financial, material, and in-kind donations.”
Park-Stepaniuk says the shelter was run by volunteers until the global pandemic was declared, when a grant from the County of Northern lights allowed for the hiring of the first few staff.
“The committee had discussed future plans and determined a larger non-profit would have to form with stable funding for shelter space or another established non-profit could take over the control of the program,” Park-Step- aniuk explains.
“The Sagitawa Friendship Society board of directors, who have been working to support those in need in our community for over 60 years, voted to do just that. They have successfully obtained funding allowing it to run every night since they have opened using grants from the provincial and federal funding.”
Now the shelter requires assistance from the pubic. If individuals are interested in donating to the program to help keep the shelter open through summer, please phone Geldart at (780) 624-2443.
“Shelters provide an essential service to a vulnerable population,” says Geldart.
“The clients rely on the shelter to have their basic needs met and to have a safe place to sleep. Sleeping rough is never a safe option and having shelters in rural communities closing in the summer means that clients are either having to sleep rough or in other unsafe options.”
11443-143 Street,
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