Provincial funding targets homelessness
The province on Thursday announced $60 million for outreach programs that help homeless Albertans, including $19.4 million for agencies in Edmonton.
The money will fund programs such as the Bissell Centre’s Homeless to Homes program, which provides wraparound assistance to Albertans who need permanent, affordable housing.
“One measure of a community is the extent to which people help one another,” said Mark Holmgren, CEO of the Bissell Centre, which seeks to eliminate poverty in the capital city.
“We are all human beings ... and I think it’s a human thing to to reach out and help people, no matter their circumstances.”
Holmgren said the money will allow the organization to double the number of people in the Homeless to Homes program, bringing the number to 160. Many of the clients struggle with addiction and mental health issues.
Rosie Harrison was one of those people. She trembled and cried Thursday as she recounted leaving a troubled relationship and ending up on the streets.
For four years she slept at downtown shelters and picked bottles to support her drinking habit. Last winter she was excepted into the program and is now living in her own apart- ment and receiving addiction counselling.
“I no longer need to turn to alcohol to solve my problems,” Harrison said. The room, filled with people who work with Edmonton’s homeless, gave her a standing ovation.
Human Services Minister Dave Hancock said the province is committed to continuing to fund services that support Albertans who rely on such programs to get off the streets.
“It is important to care about our community and the people in it,” he said. “After all, everyone deserves to have a future, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.”
The announcement is the latest in support of the province’s 10-year plan to end homeless- ness, which was introduced in 2008.
In addition to the $60 million announced Thursday, Alberta Health will contribute $5 million to improve mental health and addiction services for homeless Albertans in Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge.
Health Minister Fred Horne said the province hopes that investing in addictions and mental health treatment will reduce reliance on emergency rooms by vulnerable populations.
Edmonton’s Homeward Trust Foundation also received a $2-million grant that will help build 102 new supportive housing spaces for aboriginal Albertans with addiction and mental health issues.