(Image Credit: File photo/Everything GP staff.)

By Erika Rolling

Community

Mayor Clayton to write letter of support for Wapiti House after provincial funding cut

Apr 1, 2026 | 12:44 PM

Officials with Wapiti House say they are losing nearly one-third of their overall funding for the facility due to cuts in the 2026 provincial budget.

The facility will be out $1.45 million. This will cease operations of their Foundations Substance-Free Transitional Housing Program and case management services, affecting over 175 people currently using these services.

This specific stream of funding was established during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide “enhanced housing-focused shelter services.”

Wapiti House Project Lead Jared Gossen says this will most likely lead to a state of public dysfunction in downtown Grande Prairie.

“It’s one of several cuts across the province, directly affecting not only homeless individuals but also people who are underhoused, (and) those with disabilities and/or complex mental health issues.”

He says it’s the result of a greater crisis in their sector.

“The non-profit and community sectors are used to stretching a dollar. So it’s a lot of in-kind partnerships and different things that we’re leveraging the funding as well.”

Gossen was half of a delegation that presented to Grande Prairie City Council on the matter at the March 30 meeting. They asked Mayor Jackie Clayton to write a letter of support to the Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services on their behalf.

Council approved having Mayor Clayton write a letter to the provincial ministries in charge, asking for more information on the cut and a 60-day extension.

Gossen notes that 19 positions with Wapiti House will be cut due to the loss of provincial dollars. He says these people, who will inevitably lose their jobs, consistently work above and beyond every day.

“We will kind of be back in some dark ages in terms of service provision. The emergency shelter has had an active role in helping people move from homelessness into housing and into recovery services, and so where we used to have a good number of staff on site or through partner services with the funding… we will be replacing those people with a pamphlet and hoping for the best.”

He says with the remaining funding, they will be going back to “just barely being able to keep the doors open.”

Although dreary, Gossen mentioned the region has a high degree of collaboration between community services.

“We were seeing real change, not only impacting Grande Prairie, but also the Peace Country and Alberta as a whole. This is a huge blow not only to the residents we’re serving, but also to the partnered services that depended on our resources to refer to.”

He says for now, it’ll be a time of “reshuffling and re-coordinating” for Wapiti House operations.