By Josh Hall (rdnewsNOW)

Homelessness

Red Deer set to take fresh approach to ending homelessness

Oct 29, 2019 | 6:51 AM

The brain trust behind ending homelessness in Red Deer has determined it would take a five-year investment of close to $275 million to successfully do so.

Approved by city council on Monday, the Community Housing and Homelessness Integrated Plan (CHHIP) replaces the previous plan to end homelessness which concluded in 2018. It was developed this year by an ad-hoc committee and states The City only has about $27 million of the needed funding. The rest will need to come from the federal and provincial governments.

“I think we will see some new affordable housing starts, but they won’t all be dependent on government funding,” said Mayor Tara Veer. “This plan is different in that it relies on partnerships with the private sector, the faith and non-profit sector and looking at other options for getting housing on the ground. It is a highly ambitious plan.”

The City’s Social Planning Manager, Tricia Hercina, believes the new plan will come closer than the last in terms of reaching its goal of ending homelessness.

“What’s different first of all is our understanding of the needs of the community. I don’t think we had the data 10 years ago, so we’re much better informed about the different requirements it takes to target those different populations that are struggling,” she said. ”We have to work with our local housing management bodies, our faith sector, our business sector, and our developers to make sure we are building for the needs of our community.“

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Ending homelessness, she adds, means no longer needing temporary and transitionary options, but rather having the inventory needed to immediately house anyone who is or becomes homeless.

Should the required funding become available from whichever source(s), it would be enough to add 1300 deep subsidy affordable rental units, 1000 affordable units at 10 per cent below market value, and provide more than 2000 rental subsidies.

There are an estimated 1,760 households in Red Deer which are considered to be in extreme core housing need, meaning they may be one or two steps away from the brink of homelessness. The last Point in Time Homeless Count conducted in 2018 found Red Deer’s homeless population to be around 145; another count will take place in 2020.

Christine Stewart, chair of the CHHIP ad-hoc committee, and executive director at the Canadian Mental Health Association, says the greater community will continue to play a huge part in achieving the plan’s targets.

”The engagement phase was critical in ensuring we developed the right plan for Red Deer,” she says. “The community’s feedback, data from the last decade, best practices, and expertise have come together in the CHHIP to build a plan that identifies Red Deer priorities to ensure housing and homelessness are addressed now and in the future.”

From May to August 2019, 1100 consultation hours were tallied through open houses, online surveys and design labs aimed at getting the public involved in a hands-on fashion. A total of 2600 voices were heard.

Through that feedback came the new plan’s five priorities of wraparound supports, truth & reconciliation, housing options, early intervention & coordination, and communication & leadership.

The City currently distributes approximately $4.6 million annually in homelessness grants with money from the provincial and federal governments. City council asked administration on Monday to bring back a recommendation on a new integrated governance model for this plan sometime before the end of the second quarter of 2020.

The entire plan will be available online soon at RedDeer.ca.