Hundreds are homeless in St. Albert, say social justice advocates, and it will take a community effort to help them find safe havens.
About 100 people are expected to be at the St. Albert United Church this Sept. 18 for a free panel discussion on the unhoused and precariously housed in St. Albert.
Panel co-organizers Betty Mackey and Percy Zalasky said they were inspired to arrange this event after seeing reports of mass evictions of homeless people from tent cities in Edmonton.
“In the past we’ve always assumed people just go into Edmonton,” Zalasky said, referring to people who can’t afford homes in St. Albert. But Edmonton can no longer handle the problem on its own.
“We have to tackle the problem where it’s happening and not send it south of the city.”
Mackey said she hopes the panel will help residents learn more about homelessness in St. Albert and build momentum behind possible solutions, such as the St. Albert homeshare program.
“The need is here,” she said.
Scale and solutions
Social workers at the St. Albert Food Bank have worked with about 200 unhoused people so far this year, which is far more than normal, said panellist and Food Bank executive director Suzan Krecsy. Most were couch-surfing, while others were living in motels, cars, or on the street. Some were evicted from housing for non-payment. Others were fleeing domestic violence or suffered from mental health or addiction issues.
Many St. Albert residents are precariously housed, which means they spend over half their income on rent and are one sick day or unanticipated expense away from homelessness, said panellist Lory Scott, affordable housing liaison with the City of St. Albert. Rising costs and low vacancy rates are pushing more and more people into these situations.
Research suggests St. Albert has at least and probably many more than 12 homeless youths, said panellist Vlad Ruban, social housing co-ordinator for the City of St. Albert. While youth homelessness is usually linked to family economic struggles, it can be linked to mental health or 2SLGBTQ+ issues.
Homelessness has significant impacts on a person’s ability to get and keep a job, and their physical and mental health, Krecsy and Ruban said. Stable housing generally increases employee productivity and strengthens community, and is essential for a youth’s proper brain development.
There’s no one silver bullet for homelessness, as it involves affordable housing prices, provincial subsidies, and simply building more homes, Scott said.
“It take a community to eliminate homelessness completely,” Ruban said.
Krecsy said one solution St. Albert could try is to convert a motel or other building into supportive housing — homes paired with support workers who provide rehabilitative or life-skills training. NiGiNan Housing Ventures (the CEO of which will speak at the Sept. 18 panel), operates several such places in Edmonton, including the former Sands Inn & Suites Hotel, and provides residents with subsidized rental accommodations paired with Indigenous cultural supports and opt-in addictions treatments.
The panel runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the St. Albert United Church (20 Green Grove Dr.)
