Homelessness Initiatives

On April 28 Kathy Stanley and Rev. Brian Kiely attended a Lunch and Learn event at the Milner Library. Sponsored by the Edmonton Social Planning Councul it featured a first year progress report on Housing and Homelessness in Edmonton with Susan McGee, Executive Director and Murray Soroka, Director, Housing First, Homeward Trust Edmonton.


At the Council of Committee Chairs meeting held on May 8th there was a request for the Edmonton Unitarian Church to host an evening and a Sunday service with the speakers from the Lunch and Learn.

The Edmonton Journal reported on April 30, 2010:
Homelessness elimination project ahead of schedule


By Gordon Kent, Edmonton Journal April 30, 2010


Edmonton is on track to repeat the successful first year of its program to eliminate homelessness, a member of the drive's commission says.
The plan was slated to produce 150 supported-housing units in its initial year, but actually secured 424 units that provide homes for 546 people, according to an update released Thursday.
It should be possible to duplicate that, said Susan McGee, executive director of Homeward Trust, which is managing the co-ordination of the plan.
"We can do the same over the next year. I'm sure we can ... we have learned we can't house people so fast that the supports aren't there," she said.
"What we have done this year is emphasize getting the (support) teams up and running, and getting them running really well ... we still have huge challenges with prevention."
The commission was set up in 2009 following the release of Edmonton's 10-year plan to end homelessness, which called for the creation of 3,500 permanent, affordable homes within a decade.
The province adopted a similar plan based on the Housing First program, aimed at getting homeless people into safe, stable housing so they can focus on recovering and rebuilding their lives.
Previously, people often had to meet conditions such as overcoming addictions or finding a job before they were felt to be ready for a permanent home.
A 2008 count found 3,079 homeless people in Edmonton, up 18 per cent from a similar count in 2006.
The program includes rental assistance, free furniture and the workers needed to provide newly housed people with crucial support.
Funding for housing was boosted last year to almost $25 million from roughly $10 million to $11 million in previous years, due to a big increase from the province, which has hiked its spending in this area again this year, McGee said.
Charles Guick is a former homeless cocaine addict who works delivering the furniture chosen by participants in the program.
He now has contact with his family, a fiancee and rents a condo in the river valley where he was able to put up his first Christmas tree.
"It's my home. I love it. People need that.
"They need to put something into their life to make their life more important."
gkent@thejournal.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal


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