Emergency shelter hoping to transform
Due to shut soon, advocates aspire to shift to assisted-living model
When asked what's next for the residents of an indoor emergency shelter in Regina's Warehouse District, Erica Beaudin says the answer is complicated.
“First of all, we're in a sixth wave of a pandemic,” Beaudin, executive director of Regina Treaty/ Status Indian Services (RTSIS), said in an interview Monday. “The second issue is that we have government programs that are not meant to truly help people to independence.” The shelter was established in partnership with the City of Regina, the Saskatchewan government and RTSIS, the organization chosen to operate it. It was born from a tent city that popped up in Heritage's Pepsi Park in October 2021, winter looming.
The homeless camp moved indoors in mid-november, funded by the city and province with a commitment to operate for at least six months. With that six months coming to a close, Beaudin said transition plans are in the works.
“Right now what we are discussing is that the shelter will not be closed down at the end of this month the way that we had originally planned,” she said. “We are looking at potentially sometime in May for it to transition into a different type of assisted ... living.”
RTSIS has done assessments of residents to see what level of support they will need once the shelter is decommissioned, whether it's more one-on-one support or simply some work boots and a place to stay because they are ready to move out on their own.
WHERE IT BEGAN
Camp Hope (previously known as Camp Marjorie) was established in mid- October to support people experiencing homelessness that advocates say stem from recent changes to the Saskatchewan Income Support Program (SIS).
Critics say SIS, which exists in place of the Saskatchewan Assistance Program (SAP) and Transitional Employment Allowance (TEA) programs, is failing and vulnerable people are falling through the cracks.
While Beaudin agrees the program isn't doing what it should to pave the way for independence for those rely on it, she said it's also only one part of a bigger picture.
“SIS is just the latest in a long line of programs that have meant to put Band-aids on solutions and not really truly help people to a better life,” she said.
When the shelter moved indoors, it got mixed reactions from Warehouse residents and business owners and faced challenges in the first few weeks of operation, including continued overdoses and resistance from residents to accept that they needed help.
Some former Camp Hope residents have since died of overdoses and some were also among those living at a Heritage apartment that was the site of two fires in January and March.
Volunteers who organized the tent city, while no longer involved in operations of the shelter since it moved indoors, have continued to support former residents, many of whom were left to fend for themselves again when the 100-person camp was transitioned to the 40bed shelter.
While Beaudin said RTSIS didn't always agree with how Camp Hope was operated, she said the organizers had huge hearts and “incredible” intentions, which she credits for bringing the long-standing issue of homelessness across Regina under a new spotlight.
“They did it because they wanted people to live and to have some place to go,” she said. “That on the outset is absolutely essential and RTSIS completely supports that.”
WHERE IT IS NOW
The residents currently at the indoor shelter span the spectrum in terms of struggles and needs, said Beaudin, with overdoses happening as recently as Monday morning.
“It's not as simple as saying we're shutting down in two weeks or in four weeks and we have housed this many people and therefore RTSIS has been successful or the Government of Sask(atchewan) has been successful or the City of Regina has been successful,” she said.
“There are different benchmarks of success and that is dependent on the individual themselves and the families.”
In addition to case management and assessment, shelter partners are working with community organizations like Salvation Army, YWCA, Phoenix House and even the Hub Table in Regina to ensure everyone has a place to go and meaningful supports.
(The Hub Table is a team of people from various government ministries and community agencies that meet weekly to “address specific situations involving individuals and/or families who have a significant probability of experiencing harm if they do not receive some type of intervention.”)
RTSIS is also working on pilot projects with the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, Regina Housing Authority and the Ministry of Social Services to ensure residents have a place to stay beyond the life of the shelter.
“There is a lot of work being done amongst the agencies together,” Beaudin said.
“I've worked in Regina here since 2007. This is the first time that I've seen this level of willingness and care.”
When asked for comment on the future of the shelter, including funding and lease agreements, both the city and the province provided written statements which noted they are working closely with partners on next steps and will provide updates at a later date.
WHERE IT MUST GO
While the residents of the shelter will be taken care after the doors close, Beaudin says the issue goes far beyond.
And even though it's a daunting task, she says she has hope as she sees the city, province and even the feds working to find long-term solutions.
“It's about a complete holistic look at how to move people from the dependency of addiction and mental health to the place of wellness and responsible citizenry and how that works for all of us together,” Beaudin said.
One of the biggest things that must change is the use of western methodologies in government and community-based programs.
Approximately 85 per cent of Regina's homeless population are Indigenous and programs and services must reflect that, she continued.
Even programs that hire Indigenous people aren't always effective, because they are often expected to still “abide by those non-indigenous philosophies and modalities of wellness.”
They know land-based teachings, detox and wellness strategies work for Indigenous people, Beaudin said.
But they aren't properly funded and are sometimes left in the hands of those who don't understand them.
But she sees hope for the future in the actions of all the shelter's partners since its inception.
“As a community-based organization I always wish for the city and the province and the feds to work faster, but I will say this, that I am really proud to be sitting at the table,” Beaudin added.