Edmonton struggling to find funds to run specialized housing units for homeless people
CBC
The fate of more than 300 apartment units in Edmonton for people transitioning from chronic homelessness is in limbo since the latest provincial budget has no funding to run new permanent supportive housing projects.
The City of Edmonton asked the province for $9 million a year to help operate the specialized housing, five buildings of which are currently under construction and slated to open this spring.
Two hotels are being converted into permanent housing, for a total of 348 units due to open by June.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he was counting on those operating dollars, the minimum required to run the facilities.
"We will be scrambling to run those or they will stay vacant," Sohi said after the budget was released last week. "That is a tragedy."
Housing agencies, however, are determined to find the money.
Susan McGee, CEO of housing steward Homeward Trust, said the complexes were designed and built specifically for people transitioning from chronic homelessness with mental health and addictions issues.
"We certainly don't envision a future where they're left vacant," McGee said in an interview Thursday. "But it's not going to be easy to make them work, for sure."
Homeward Trust is responsible for securing the money and choosing agencies to operate the permanent supportive housing, which requires staff on site 24/7 to help tenants with a range of services, including mental health and addictions support.
The average complex needs the equivalent of 11 full-time staff, she said, costing about $1 to $1.2 million a year.
She said Homeward Trust is combing through existing programs to see where it can come up with the money.
It may be faced with taking money from programs and projects, such as its Housing First, youth intervention and rental assistance, she said.
It could mean that people who've become homeless may have to wait longer to get help with rent.
"If we have to reduce some of the capacity of that program, it will mean housing slower," McGee noted. "Those are the options that we struggle with certainly, because we have seen such an increase in homelessness."
The Nova Scotia Energy Board has approved Nova Scotia Power’s application to raise rates, but not by as much as the company wanted.
New Brunswick's tourism department officially unveiled a new artificial intelligence chatbot to help tourists plan their trip here.
The province is planning to temporarily remove Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) for buyers of new homes.
Winter can be tough to bear. Even more so if you’re homeless.
Two future national First Nations leaders, a deputy premier and a city councillor are among the prominent Manitobans who appear in declassified intelligence files from years of RCMP spying on the Indigenous rights movement in the Cold War era.
Saskatoon city hall administration is planning to "refresh" the funding strategy for the proposed $1.2-billion downtown arena district amid a lack of commitments from higher levels of government.
A report of fraud tied to a walleye derby is under investigation after Montreal Lake Cree Nation said a participant allegedly violated derby rules and was asked to leave the fishing area.
An Edmonton architectural firm says it is in talks with the provincial government to potentially redevelop the former Royal Alberta Museum.
Does junior football have a future in Prince George?
People are descending upon the city for the dozens of events and live music performances this week as the Juno Awards are set to take place Sunday at Hamilton's TD Coliseum.
For nearly two decades, Amanda Loewen's world ended where the pavement did.
The notion that home ownership guarantees financial security in old age is being challenged by a recent survey.
The family of Nash Prystie has identified him as the man who died in an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shooting earlier this month north of Kenora, and is calling for more and quicker help for people with mental health challenges.