After engaging thousands of Edmontonians, people with lived experience, and key stakeholders, Homeward Trust and the City of Edmonton have released A Place to Call Home – Edmonton’s Updated Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.
The updated plan sets priorities to 2026. It is founded on three key goals: eliminating chronic and episodic homelessness by 2022; preventing future homelessness; and developing an integrated systems response to homelessness. Each key goal has its own associated targets and strategies.
Highlights include:
The updated Plan recognizes and responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action through an explicit acknowledgement that Indigenous homelessness is a colonial legacy.
This update stands on the shoulders of the great work that has transpired since the initial plan was launched in 2009. The commitment to end homelessness in Edmonton that was made at the time was ambitious and game changing, and also thoughtful and achievable. It was one of the first plans to end homelessness in Canada, and established Edmonton as a leader in what has become a movement that has taken hold across the county.
Since the Plan’s inception in 2009, our community has made strong progress. More than 6,000 people have been housed and supported under the Plan and partners have gained a better understanding about the scope of homelessness in our city and what is required to end it.
Download the Updated Plan here
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We recognize we are gathered, in collaboration and with joint purpose, on Treaty 6 territory. This territory is the home and gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples. The Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Inuit, and many others. We know the importance of the Treaty and our responsibility to these communities and that only in partnership can we create the social change necessary to end homelessness. It is vital that we meaningfully engage and partner with Indigenous people and communities in this work. It is important to recognize and address the conditions brought forth by colonialism. Displacement from traditional homelands, systemic racism, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the ongoing overrepresentation of Indigenous people in child welfare, correctional systems, and homelessness are responsibilities we all share.