Parkside Inn in the summer of 2018 (photo: Curtis Galbraith)

By Emily Keller

housing

Parkside Inn project to end in October

Feb 18, 2020 | 3:52 PM

The Protective and Social Services Committee was presented with an update to the Parkside Inn supportive housing pilot project at Tuesday’s committee meeting.

Katherine Schmidt, the Housing and Homeless Initiatives Supervisor with the City, says the project is to come to an end in October 2020, as it was only intended to last two years.

“I think there’s been huge interest in the neighbourhood to see whether it truly was a pilot project or whether there was some hidden agenda to make it into a long-term project. So, it’s been a pilot project, it was really about using that site for us to be able to see what permanent supported housing is all about, and for us to do the learnings from that particular project.”

The City plans to have a transition site set up by the end of October.

Schmidt adds that a challenge was the lack of on-site medical care for those needing support, and that the city has a new build planned with the Province of Alberta and the Grande Spirit Foundation to have a medical model focus, which is set to begin in 2021.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

The Grande Spirit Foundation had become a partner in the initial pilot project, having taken over some maintenance and support for tenant evictions, which was listed as a challenge in the update.

“The experts in supportive housing truly are the individuals that are living there,” said Schmidt, “and that talking with, consulting with, getting them to help design it and for them to help tell you what works and doesn’t work is the very most important part of the process.”

The update says there have been numerous successes though, with 25 of the 45 individuals housed at the Parkside Inn having maintained housing there instead of returning to homelessness.