Pandemic exacerbating social issues: non-profit
Food insecurity, drug use, homelessness intensifying during crisis, advocate says
Edmontonians are being overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic with hundreds of families struggling with substance use and finding enough to eat, says the director of a non-profit collaborative.
Corinne Saad, director of C5: Collaborative for Change, said during her presentation at Thursday's Edmonton Police Commission that the pandemic exacerbated the city's existing social issues such as food security.
To meet the rising demand, C5 began providing food hampers for those in need.
On average, the collaborative delivers food to 550 families or 2,000 individuals every two weeks across the city.
Saad said many families relied on casual or short-term jobs to make ends meet but when the pandemic hit, those job opportunities were taken away.
“(The Canada Emergency Response Benefit) helped, absolutely, but we're seeing real financial hardship,” she said. “Food security is huge and we are seeing that growing every day. We see families where substance use issues have surfaced (and become) much more serious. We're seeing levels of family violence, young people becoming homeless because they can no longer be in that family setting. Our marginalized community members (are) overwhelmed by all the factors that were in place pre-pandemic. Now it's just doubly so.”
C5 is a collaborative of five non-profit organizations including Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, Boyle Street Community Services, Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre and Terra Centre for Teen Parents. Roughly 30,000 Edmontonians are served by the five organizations.
Saad said all forms of substance use have gone up including alcohol and opioids.
In September, the Q2 Opioid Surveillance Report said opioid overdoses killed 301 Albertans between April and June, the highest number of deaths since reporting began in 2016. In total, 449 people have died from an opioid overdose so far in 2020, with 2.5 people dying on average every day.
Saad said it's a growing problem and substance use contributes directly to family violence.
She said there's a desperate need to expand mental health and substance use supports in the city but both funding and volunteers are needed.
“I think there are still people falling through the cracks,” Saad said. “The COVID funding has really enhanced agencies and not just the C5 but many community agencies to respond to those in need but the COVID funding is short term. We are funded until the end of March 2021. We don't see those pressures on our system decreasing at all. In fact, I'd say I'm more troubled by what I'm seeing in the community now than I was in April.”
Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale Mcfee, during his report to the commission, said the city is facing a social issue and violence problem.
“Our target is to deal with both of those (problems) at the same time and I think we're starting to see some progress,” he said.
“If you don't do both at the same time there's a good chance that the social problem over time could end up in the justice system. What you can't do is treat them as the same because the justice system isn't the same response.”
Mcfee said a disproportionate number of calls for service are related to social issues. He said it is a balancing act for police as they can't ignore a call for service.