Calgary city council approves $750K to help homeless population through winter
Global News
City council approved the one-time funding and a plan to address how to reduce barriers to services for the city's homeless population.
Calgary’s homeless population will be getting some more help through the winter after city council approved one-time funding Monday morning.
With $750,000, the Calgary Homeless Foundation will be able to help expand shelter-space available in the city and the area they support.
“Over the past few weeks, a number of agencies have approached the city and the Calgary Homeless Foundation with opportunities to expand their current service delivery,” Doug Borch with the city’s neighbourhoods department said.
“They provide day and/or evening services and the proposed funding will allow them to expand hours of operation, the number of people they can accommodate, the services provided on site and outreach capacity to go find people and get them through their programs.”
The funds will also go to providing winter essentials like socks, headwear, mittens and other items to help people stay warm.
City officials didn’t want to provide items that could provide heat because of the risk of smoke and fire within an encampment, on advice from the Calgary Fire Department.
“Our recommended approach is to provide passive protection rather than active heating units that require fuel sources,” Borch said.
The Calgary Homeless Foundation said COVID-19 has contributed to the complexities facing outreach programs and shelters, but demand for their services hasn’t necessarily increased.