The City of St. Albert's task force on homelessness wants to see a youth transitional home built in the city so local kids without a place to live don't end up on the streets of Edmonton.
On July 13, St. Albert's community living standing committee approved a recommendation for city council to receive the final report of the Mayor’s Task Force to End Homelessness.
It also moved unanimously to recommend that the task force continue to lead homelessness prevention efforts in St. Albert, and to recommend that city council consider plans to build and run a youth transitional home in the city as part of its 2021 budget.
Mayor Cathy Heron struck the task force in 2018 to examine the state of homelessness in St. Albert.
The task force found at least 167 people were homeless in St. Albert as of 2019, including youth, seniors, new immigrants and victims of domestic violence.
While some people sleep outside, most families and individuals who are homeless are hidden from view. Those individuals may have found access to temporary housing by couch surfing with family or friends or sleeping in cars, campers or apartment stairwells.
Focus on youth
The task force recommended the city focus its first efforts to address homelessness on youth, as they have the fewest resources and the greatest need in St. Albert.
“If you are a youth and have a homelessness problem in St. Albert, you have nowhere to go,” said Dean Kurpjuweit, task force chair and executive director of the anti-poverty group The Mustard Seed in Edmonton, in an interview.
Youth who are homeless in St. Albert often can’t find jobs and fall through gaps in the social safety net, the task force found – they’re too young for Alberta Supports, and Children’s Services won’t help them unless they’re in immediate peril. Most couch-surf for as long as they can before heading to a shelter or the streets in Edmonton.
“Youth don’t gain a lot of street-smarts on the corner of Perron and St. Anne,” Kurpjuweit said, which puts them at high risk of falling into gangs, drugs or prostitution in Edmonton.
Every homeless person costs Alberta about $100,000 a year, Kurpjuweit said. Housing them for a year costs just $30,000.
Homelessness has a cost to society in terms of crime, addictions and medical care, Heron said in an interview.
“If you can help these kids at a young age and prevent them from getting caught up in homelessness, you’re going to save money.”
St. Albert also has a moral and civic duty to care for its youth, Kurpjuweit said.
“These are our citizens. These are people who consider St. Albert their home, and their home isn’t caring for them.”
Transitional solution
The task force recommended the city build and run a 10-bed transitional home that would help homeless youths become independent.
Youths aged 16 to 24 would be paired with social workers for mental health support and training in life skills (e.g. budgeting) so they could eventually move on with life, which Kurpjuweit said could mean a return to their families or independent life.
The task force said the home could be built near Braeside Church, the future Village Landing fire hall, or on St. Thomas Street. It would cost about $650,000 a year to run.
The task force did not list a capital cost for this project, but Kurpjuweit said it would be comparable to a typical house.
Committee members heard this home could be run by a community group and funded in part through grants.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said the city should lobby the province for financial support on homelessness, and wanted the city to seek a financial partner for this initiative before it committed any money.
“We were told this (task force) wasn’t going to cost us money, and this is going to cost us millions.”
Just because other levels of government aren’t tackling youth homelessness doesn’t mean city administration should, said Coun. Natalie Joly.
“St. Albert does not have the expertise to run a facility like this,” she said.
The city could cover its capital costs, but should leave its operations up to a non-profit.
In a tie vote, the committee rejected the task force’s recommendation to have council consider hiring a social housing specialist to advance the social housing needs of all vulnerable groups in St. Albert (Heron and Coun. Ken MacKay in favour, Joly and Hughes opposed) as part of its 2021 budget debate.
That position would have cost about $98,000 a year.
City council will consider the committee’s recommendations at a future meeting.
