St. Albert's homeless population can have a new place to call home, if they want the chance.
According to an information request submitted to council, a fledgling partnership between the city's temporary residential services committee (TRS), Homeward Trust Edmonton and Jasper Place Health and Wellness in Edmonton will give St. Albert's homeless population access to one of Homeward Trust's residential locations in north Edmonton.
According to TRS committee chair Linda Knoblauch, also community development co-ordinator with St. Albert Family & Community Support Services (FCSS), the issue was discussed with Homeward Trust after the city turned to the Edmonton-based homelessness group for advice and support on what St. Albert could do to help its homeless.
The model, called housing first, would see homeless people move into a home with full support from social workers to help with employment, education, counselling, addictions and other issues.
Although she said the deal is in the early stages, Knoblauch believes it would offer a solid service to those who want to access it.
"That's the key to this is that they have to want to be housed," she said. "It's still very early stages to know what it will look like."
According to the information request, none of the city's known homeless population has taken up the offer yet, but that might change once the temperature drops in the fall.
Knoblauch added autumn is typically the time when most people without a home leave the city for Edmonton's support services.
Head count
Council's original information request asked if the city could look into holding a homeless count with the help of Homeward Trust. General manager of community and protective services Chris Jardine said the organization's mandate is to look after Edmonton alone, but they did offer advice about a head count for St. Albert.
Traditionally, Homeward Trust holds an annual head count every October where volunteers spend one day combing Edmonton's streets for homeless people. Both Jardine and Knoblauch said many of St. Albert's homeless have left the city by that point for wider social supports in Edmonton.
Jardine said the city knows of 13 people who qualify as homeless, according to a count by an outreach worker at the St. Albert Community Village. As well, the city tried to conduct its own homeless census but enumerators did not find any homeless people over the course of the count. Jardine said the weather plays heavily into the number of people that can be found.
"It may or may not provide better information than what the Community Village has," he said.
Coun. Gareth Jones, who represents council on the community services committee, said he was unsure a homeless count would truly paint a picture of the city's homelessness problem. Because of the number of invisible homeless and house-poor individuals who spend most or all of their earnings on housing, Jones is concerned the census won't show the issue's true nature.
"The people sleeping in the bushes, that's only one part of it," he said. "I guess I have a slightly different definition of homelessness than most do."
For more information about the Housing First program, contact the St. Albert Community Village at 780-459-0499.
