Fort Macleod and Vulcan-area projects among 12 receiving funding to combat housing issues

· $459,106 to the Foothills Centre in Fort Macleod – a social detox that will operate five transitional beds for people with addictions that have completed a detox program and are waiting to access in-patient care.

· $387,772 to the Fort Macleod & District FCSS – the Fort Macleod Housing and Community Connects project will prevent homelessness and reduce housing instability for families, individuals and youth in the region, connecting people to housing and appropriate services. It will help boost agency partnerships to support an effective network of wrap-around services.

· $300,862 to the Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre – The Centre will operate a Mat Program as temporary emergency shelter for six months of the year to help the homeless in Slave Lake and surrounding area. It will provide a warm place to stay overnight and access to food, clean clothes and showers. Their homeless coalition will work to find a permanent place for a homeless shelter.

· $225,840 to the Municipal District of Greenview FCSS – The Meadows to Mountains Homelessness Prevention project will offer supports for individuals and families within the M.D. of Greenview No. 16 to “move the needle on homelessness”. Clients will assist in the development of a Personalized Success Plan. On-going support will be available to navigate systems, access life skills development and for clients to demonstrate that they are pivotal to their success in stabilizing their living situation.

· $404,805 to the Mountain Rose Women Shelter Association in Rocky Mountain House – The Rocky & District Housing Support Services Project will aid individuals or families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless by transitioning them to more stable housing that is “appropriate and safe”. This goal will be accomplished via a multi-phased/multi-year strategy, which will include community consultations, specialized housing support staff, coordination of resources, data collection and transportation.

· $454,547 to the Vulcan Regional Food Bank Society – Vulcan County’s homeless will be helped through Vulcan’s Initiative to Achieve Better Living Environments (VIABLE), which will provide short and long-term supports to individuals in the areas of physical and mental health, parenting, resources, education and employment readiness.

· $204,300 to the Camrose Open Door Association (in Camrose and east-central Alberta) – The Camrose Open Door Association has a rural outreach worker who will connect with youth between the ages of 11 and 24. The worker ensures that young people throughout the East Central Region of Alberta are connected to supports to help them avoid homelessness.

· $290,052 to the Hinton Adult Learning Society – Freddy’s Resource Room is a safe space where the homeless can access support services. Services include showers, a washer and dryer, a phone and computers, food, clothing, safe storage, a mailbox and access to the group’s homelessness coordinator. Funding will also be used to offer an overnight community mat program where the homeless can stay warm and have a hot meal.

· $359,450 to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Banff – Project HOME offers supports and case management for individuals and families in the Bow Valley who are experiencing homelessness or a precarious housing situation.

· $22,500 to the Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 – The M.D. will be conducting a homelessness estimation count in the region using the ARDN’s Step-by-Step Guide to Estimating Rural Homelessness and will undertake a comprehensive housing needs assessment.

· $337,500 to Lakeland Centre for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) – The goal is to provide programming to connect FASD clients who are at imminent risk of homelessness as an intermediate step between emergency shelter and supportive housing for up to three months.

· $256,000 to the Strathmore Overnight Shelter (SOS) – The SOS is an “inclusive sanctuary” that is committed to providing a safe emergency accommodation and collaborative support services for the homeless and anyone at risk of homelessness in Strathmore and the surrounding area.

In a release, the ARDN’s director of homelessness initiatives John Kmech said, “these projects will be the only projects operating outside the major cities in Alberta that provide direct support to people struggling with housing instability or homelessness”.

He stated that rural homelessness is an under-recognized issue, noting that oftentimes it is hidden. He used couch-surfing, living in overcrowded or unfit housing or living in vehicles as examples.

“Because of this, rural communities have significantly less access to resources than larger urban centres, which creates a service gap,” he said.

“While these programs will provide much-needed relief to several new communities and allow some long-time projects to expand their focus, there are many towns and smaller cities across the province that need help but did not receive funding due to a lack of available resources.”

Executive director of the ARDN, Dee Ann Benard, said the organization had many difficult choices to make, with 33 applications being submitted for funding.

“The chosen projects demonstrate committed communities and organizations applying home-grown solutions to their unique issues. We are already seeing communities learning from each other and working together to address the needs of people who are homeless or at risk. We look forward to working with these project proponents and seeing the results of their good work,” she stated.

The ARDN was behind the management of the Rural and Remote stream of funding for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, which preceded the Reaching Home program.

Between 2014 and 2019, 32 projects were funded in rural Alberta to address housing issues.

by Justin Goulet

Fort Macleod and Vulcan-area projects among 12 receiving funding to combat housing issues

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