Throughout our engagements, many people wanted to know more about the experiences of people who have lived in supportive housing. We have collected some stories from a group of people living in four different supportive housing developments. Names have been changed to protect people’s privacy, but no other details have been changed.

Harris

Harris grew up in New Brunswick, but moved to Alberta to work in a machine shop around 30 years ago. In 2001, he lost his job, and with few connections and resources, he found himself homeless shortly thereafter. He spent almost 7 years living in encampments in the river valley and struggling with addiction.

In 2014, Homeward Trust’s Pathways to Housing program staff met Harris and helped him access a place in supportive housing. He has experienced significant health challenges in recent years and has lost much of his mobility, but the supports and access to medical care available in supportive housing keep him comfortable. 

It took awhile for Harris to adjust to living in housing. After so many years sleeping outside and being constantly on alert, he struggled to feel secure in his apartment, and for the first year he always kept his things in a backpack by the door, afraid he’d be forced to leave. But in the five years he’s lived in supportive housing, he’s become adjusted, and likes the security of knowing he’ll have a safe place to sleep at night. 

Harris describes himself as a private person, but he enjoys the camaraderie of supportive housing, and having a place where he can put his things and enjoy some privacy. Because of his disability, he doesn’t go out much, but he likes to drink coffee from his favourite mug and watch black and white movies with other residents during the day, particularly Westerns. He’s also developed an interest in gardening and is looking after many plants in his apartment.

In terms of services, Harris gets help with accessing disability-friendly transportation when he needs to travel, grocery shopping, managing his AISH cheques, and taking his medication. He is still in recovery from drug use, but he is able to access weekly group therapy sessions to talk about addictions and recovery, and he makes use of the treatment programs that are available through the housing and medical staff.

When asked what he wishes people outside of supportive housing knew about this type of facility, Harris said he would want people to understand that residents are just trying to get help, and that the dignity and safety they get from being housed is really important. For the future, he plans to continue living in supportive housing and getting treatment for his health issues and addiction. 

Darren

Darren is 24 years old. He lives with Fetal-Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), but he didn’t get an FASD diagnosis until he was an adult. In the past, he had a hard time maintaining independent housing or living with family. He became connected with supportive housing through his social worker. While he has never been homeless, his worker felt he would benefit from the structure, support and community of supportive housing. His rent in supportive housing is paid through his AISH payments. 

Darren has been living in supportive housing for three years. For most of that time, he’s lived with his roommate Eric, who has become a good friend, and together they have a cat. On a regular day, Darren likes to visit the gym and the nearby library, and volunteers with a local community youth organization, where he is working with the staff to develop an anti-bullying program. He has previously worked part-time in retail positions when seasonal work was available; now he is working on building his resume with the help of the supportive housing staff. 

Darren said that moving into supportive housing has been “liberating” for him. He has people to help him manage his emotions and day to day tasks when he needs support. He has found a small community of people who understand his experience with FASD. Darren said that in his life, he’s found that “there are times in life when yourself isn’t enough, and sometimes it’s as simple as having someone there to help.” That help has allowed him to maintain housing and develop independence.

For the future, Darren is hoping to get his anti-bullying program off the ground. He would like to enroll in school to finish his GED through Norquest and eventually hopes to become a social worker so he can give back the support he has received. While he doesn’t see himself moving out of supportive housing soon, he is hopeful that eventually he will feel secure and prepared enough to manage living on his own when he is ready. 

Leslie

Leslie left home in northern Saskatchewan when he was 13 years old — more than 50 years ago now. He had 50 cents in his pocket when he left, but he also took with him a knowledge of Cree and a strong respect for Indigenous ceremony. He struggled with addiction over the next several decades, travelling across Canada and falling in and out of sobriety.

Around four years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer and received treatment in Red Deer. He lost the ability to walk, and was not expected to live, but he worked every day to walk again and reconnect with Indigenous ceremony. In the midst of his cancer recovery, he was invited by an Indigenous elder to come live in a supportive housing facility in Edmonton that is centred around Indigenous culture and traditions. 

For Leslie, the biggest impact of supportive housing has been that it has given him hope. He told us that “a little bit of hope can break a cycle”, and that the feeling of safety and stability he’s found in housing has been critical to his health recovery. The staff and residents participate in the ceremony together, and that process has helped Leslie to gain a stronger sense of hope and self-worth, to ground himself in the community, and to take on a leadership role within the housing facility. Today, he has regained his mobility and is cancer-free. 

As he ages and after experiencing significant health challenges, one of the things that Leslie thinks about in his supportive housing is death with dignity. In supportive housing, he’s seen other residents pass away from old age or from illness, but they’ve been surrounded by staff and friends who help them pass comfortably and with dignity and, in some cases, have helped them reconnect with family before passing. Leslie said that this kind of dignity and respect isn’t available for people who pass away while living on the streets. 

Today, Leslie is an active part of his community. He goes to garage sales and community events and sells his paintings, rattles and drums at craft sales in the area. He wants to continue staying in supportive housing and building the connections he has made with staff, other residents, and with his family. 

Steven

Years ago, Steven was working in Halifax for the federal government. He had a family and a job, but he was also living with undiagnosed and untreated schizophrenia and depression. When he started to struggle, he lost his job, and things progressively fell apart. For years afterwards, Steven was homeless and worked as a general labourer on construction sites across Canada, including in Edmonton.

Steven said it was particularly difficult to be homeless in Edmonton. He got into trouble with police for loitering in transit shelters to stay warm, and once got gangrene from untreated frostbite. Throughout all of this, Steven’s schizophrenia went undiagnosed, making it difficult for him to access the services he would need to get on his feet.

Eventually, the police who picked Steven up for loitering asked for a psychiatric evaluation, at which point he received a diagnosis and was placed in a medical facility, where he received treatment for a year and a half.

Steven was then referred to a supportive housing facility focused on individuals living with schizophrenia. Steven described supportive housing as “a stable, predictable environment,” which has been important for his mental wellbeing over the past four years. The community provides him with a good balance between socialization and privacy — he can go to his apartment when he feels overwhelmed or spend time with other residents in the common areas when he wants the company.

Steven likes the concerts and events that the staff sometimes host in the building for residents and the surrounding community, but other than that he doesn’t like to go out very much. He told us he doesn’t like to draw attention to himself. Sometimes he likes to go for walks or even occasionally make interesting purchases at Value Village.

For the future, Steven is hoping to stay in supportive housing. The help he receives in supportive housing, like medication management, assistance in managing his finances, and social support is important to him, and to maintaining a good quality of life.

When asked what he would like people outside of supportive housing to know about his experience, Steven said that while he knows his life story and day-to-day life might not be the same as a typical person’s, he feels safe and comfortable after many years of struggle and is happy where he is.

Learn more here: Iris Court

Community members living with a severe mental illness like schizophrenia are at a higher risk of experiencing homelessness. Some behaviours and symptoms can threaten a person’s ability to live independently or maintain housing if they are not able to access support to manage them. For these individuals, supportive housing provides what they need to have a safe and supported place to call home.

“You don’t do well if you don’t have your basic needs met—period. It starts with having a home and a roof over your head,” explains Rubyann Rice, Provincial Executive Director at Schizophrenia Society of Alberta. “With schizophrenia, having a safe and secure place is absolutely critical.”

The Schizophrenia Society of Alberta (SSA), in partnership with Homeward Trust, operates Iris Court, a supportive housing facility in southeast Edmonton. Iris Court provides services within a congregate housing environment for people living with schizophrenia and other severe mental illness with a history or risk of housing instability.

Recovery is at the core of supportive housing. On-site service offerings contribute to an individual’s overall health and well-being, with support staff available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Other services offered on-site include three meals a day and snacks, fully furnished rooms, laundry facilities, medication monitoring and assistance with daily living, and opportunities to participate in a variety of support services, recreational activities, and community service referrals. 

Residents rely on the housing and supports provided by the SSA, but getting involved in and being a part of the broader community is vital for recovery from severe mental illness. In fact, neighbourhood integration is a key contributor to the success of any supportive housing program. Homeward Trust, through its funding and oversight role for supportive housing in Edmonton, requires operators to meet “good neighbour” expectations, which are set out in the development stage and include processes to engage the community to collectively address concerns. 

Iris Court prides itself on the positive interactions it has had with its neighbours, thanks to transparency and deliberate community consultations. 

When Bonnie Doon was selected as the location for the supportive housing project, Rice had numerous conversations with residents, as well as a three-hour community meeting, which was open to the public, to answer any questions or concerns. 

“We informed them of our intentions, and we were completely transparent with them—transparency is huge,” she says. “We had a psychiatrist and a person living with the illness at the meeting to answer any questions. By the end of the meeting, the mood changed. We turned a corner.” 

At that meeting, Iris Court collaborated with community residents to develop a Good Neighbour Agreement, which Iris Court adheres to today. 

“It’s still live—it can be adapted anytime based on issues that come up in the community,” she says. 

As part of that agreement, Iris Court offers an open-door policy for any concerns or complaints. 

Iris Court residents are active participants in their community and often engage in local community events, utilize services and businesses in the area, and help their neighbours. The community also actively engages with the residents and invites them to be a part of important community decisions. Recently, representatives from Iris Court were invited to participate in a consultation for a renewable energy project, adds Trueman Macdonald, Director of Housing at Schizophrenia Society of Alberta. 

“[Our residents] want to be a part of the community,” he reflects. “They are protective of their home, their community.”

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By: Jasmine Salazar

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a host of significant health, social, and economic challenges. Factors such as high rates of chronic health conditions, congregate sheltering and housing instability increases the risk of infection among people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, which are further compounded by the disruption of services due to a changing social and health service landscape. 

To ensure our community members experiencing homelessness had access to critical services and supports during the pandemic, Edmonton’s homeless-serving sector organized a response plan that coordinated community, health system and government efforts. Priority concerns were access to healthcare, safe spaces and continued supports, especially with many organizations forced to shut down their brick-and-mortar sites. The result was opening the Edmonton EXPO Centre as a centralized hub for critical services and supports via a daytime drop-in program as well as a 24/7 isolation shelter for those showing COVID-like symptoms. 

Part of the response involved mobilizing a medical station at the EXPO Centre—an effort that involved several health organizations, including HomeCare, Indigenous Wellness Clinic, Streetworks, Mint Health + Drugs, Primary Care Network and Mobile Integrated Healthcare Paramedics providing a range of health services under one roof. Services available included: wound care, foot care, STI testing, pregnancy testing, case management, medication inquiries and support, connecting to community health resources and other general health concerns

For our community members, this centralization of services meant that their immediate needs could be met more efficiently in a barrier-free environment. Since opening on April 28, 2020, the medical station has helped more than 1400 people. 

What are the benefits of working alongside each other this way, and how is this different than business as usual?

Stephen, Alberta Health Services Homecare: Normally our programs work separately in the community—our teams usually work in their own silos. By being together under one roof we have been able to streamline processes and support each other in areas where we may not be as strong. Being together in one station has shown that our programs are much more complimentary to each other. 

Andrew, Mint Health + Drugs: Ability to think creatively to collaborate between different healthcare providers. It has been a unique situation to allow us to work together in a more holistic approach than usual.

Kelsey, Indigenous Wellness Clinic: We all have a different skillset that allows us to help the population to the fullest potential. We can collaborate effectively and work as a team to ensure the client receives the best care possible. 

Elaine, Community Paramedic: The inter-professional collaboration has been valuable since each practitioner brings a specialty to assist patients. Our multi-faceted team has been able to deliver quality patient-centred care during these times when accessing and navigating primary healthcare is extra difficult. We have learned a lot from each other, and how best our resources can be used in the future to collaborate.

Denise, Streetworks: We all have different scopes of practice so between all of us we can fill in any gaps in service that would exist if we were working here solo. 

Lanie, Primary Care Network: We can utilize each others’ resources to come up with a concise plan of care that will be the most effective in providing care to the patients. 

How has this collaboration helped maintain access to health care for community members experiencing homelessness in the context of pandemic?

Stephen: The pandemic has displaced many community members from where they normally access supports. Additionally, many of these sites had shut down or reduced hours. Coming together in the way we have has allowed us to provide short-term relief and support to help manage people’s medical concerns while they are away from their normal supports. We have been able to help a large volume of people maintain a positive health status in the community during the pandemic.

Andrew: The EXPO allows people to access all resources (social and medical) and allows for a patient-centered approach with services. Working together under one roof has been extremely positive and demonstrated what an interdisciplinary practice in the inner city could look like.

Denise: Through the partnerships formed here, continuity of care has increased because we can easily collaborate on care plans and performing front line medical care for people experiencing homelessness and facing multiple barriers to accessing health care. 

Elaine: Our specialties cater to most of our patients needs. We have been able to support patients with barriers to healthcare, especially during these times of pandemic.

Lanie: The collaboration has ensured that patients do not fall through the cracks or get forgotten about. But most importantly, it lets the community members know that through thick and thin they are not forgotten about and that their needs will be met during a pandemic. We are here to support them. 

Can you share a story of someone who was helped by receiving services from the medical station? 

Andrew: A patient came in with a lower limb infection with multiple skin lesions, redness, and swelling. The community paramedics conducted a culture swab and collaborated with an on-call MD. The RN and LPNs handled the wound care by cleansing the affected area then applying a dressing. Lastly, the pharmacy staff was able to assess the appropriateness of the prescription and initiate medication therapy. All of this occurred within a timely manner, without the need for the patient to travel to different health care settings and potentially delaying treatment. This perfectly depicts the benefits of inter-professional collaboration and most importantly, sets the gold standard for patient-centred care.

Kelsey: I saw a patient two months ago who was experiencing withdrawal from fentanyl use. I had helped him get an appointment to start OAT. I recently saw him again and he informed me that hadn’t used fentanyl for two months. 

What do you hope emerges from this collaboration?

Stephen: I hope this will facilitate an openness to future projects and collaborations with our community partners. This experience has shown its effectiveness. I hope we can carry that over to our community roles when we are no longer all under one roof.

Denise: We have built interprofessional relationships that allow us to collaborate across sectors more easily in the future after Expo. Ultimately better continuity of care will hopefully be possible within Edmonton’s inner city.

Andrew: We are grateful to have been part of such a unique and collaborative program, which demonstrated the synergy of interdisciplinary teamwork. I hope this partnership will serve as a catalyst for continued collaboration, and transitions into a site where participants are able to continue accessing housing, social and medical services.

Kelsey: I hope the partnerships will evolve, and that continuous communication and collaboration can continue. Now that we all know how we can integrate care for our clients, we can move forward to ensure that the inner city population has better access to care, is connected to the appropriate resources, and that overall we can prevent people from falling through the cracks. 

Lanie: I hope that more information on how to help and support those who suffer with mental health and drug addictions will be more readily available. With community members, first impressions are lasting impressions and it’s important to make that good first impression so they can continue to feel safe and comfortable to seek help when needed.

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Westwood Manor is a space to find healing, hope and community.

Located north of downtown Edmonton, Westwood Manor is a 20-unit Supportive Housing program operated by The Mustard Seed. Many residents have experienced chronic homelessness with barriers that continue to jeopardize their physical and mental health and their ability to retain market housing. 

Supportive Housing, by definition, provides stable housing paired with wraparound support and care for people with multiple complex needs, including mental health, addictions, trauma and disabilities or physical ailments. At Westwood Manor, residents have access to 24/7 on-site staff and clinical supports to help them on their journey.

But it’s not just on-site supports that are key to the success of the program and its participants. Staff at Westwood Manor have made it a priority for residents to have a positive relationship with each other and their neighbours. Building community has proven to be vital component of recovery and key to the success of any Supportive Housing program.

Katie Bosse, Westwood Manor’s Housing and Property Manager, recalls a resident who was in and out of homelessness for a long period of time. She had young children that could not live with her due to the precarious housing situation, which also prevented her from seeing them. Moving into Westwood Manor provided her with a stable home to reconnect with her children. During her 18 months at Westwood Manor, she was provided with the support to address her addictions and mental health and improve her overall well-being, which enabled her to graduate from the housing support program and move into market housing on her own.

“We really try to purposefully and intentionally create opportunities for the community to form between our residents, our staff and the neighbourhood,” says Landon Hildebrand, Director of Housing and Clinical Operations at the Mustard Seed. “We see community as a cure de facto when it comes to working through addictions for the whole spectrum, and as a way to dissociate from previous social lifestyles and connections to addiction.” 

Residents participate in several activities together that establish positive relationships, including Sunday brunch, gardening, volunteering, and attending community league events. 

The residents and staff at Westwood Manor are committed to demonstrating to their neighbours that they are a positive presence. This has been achieved through transparency and ongoing conversations with neighbours to build rapport. 

“We’re known in the community as a building that helps. We’ve had community members come knock on our door when they needed help because they know we are a safe space and a helping place,” says Katie.

For instance, one resident shovels his neighbour’s driveways in winter. He’s been doing it since 2016, and the response has been very positive.

“He’s got some regulars,” Katie adds. “As soon as the snow falls, they call him up. Our neighbours are appreciative for his help.”

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The approach to ending homelessness in Edmonton, of actually moving people into appropriate forms of housing, has been as successful as it has been because of cross-sector collaboration in creating data-informed strategies. Working together with frontline agencies and all levels of government has been the key to housing over 17,000 people here since 2009, and has been a key factor in the effectiveness of Edmonton’s response to protect people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Duncan Scott, Research and Evaluation Analyst at Homeward Trust, recently presented on this topic – Analytics in the Social Sector – during a Lunchalytics webinar. Lunchalytics is a monthly speaker series showcasing interesting and innovative work in the field of analytics (also presenting were Maria Savidov, Business Analyst, and Jakob Koziel, Research Analyst, both from Bissell Centre). Duncan is part of a hard-working and talented team of data analysts at Homeward Trust.

“The spirit of collaboration has been there for some time and is one of the reasons we have been able to house as many people as we have. COVID-19 has added extra layers of urgency, a need for more refined information and data that could be shared as efficiently as possible,” reflects Duncan. 

The prospect of effectively eliminating homelessness in the very near future might seem a bit daunting, but the incorporation of real-time data into the plan to end homelessness in Edmonton has helped shine a more discerning light on the problem and has also actively informed a more strategic path towards solving it for good. 

Duncan, who has been with Homeward Trust for two and a half years now, has seen a significant evolution in the way data is collected and utilized in the local homeless-serving sector: increased access to up-to-date information for Housing Outreach Workers; interactive, public-facing online dashboards; and data being made available to interact with frontline operations in a more consistent way. The proof of the effectiveness of this approach is in the results–between March 1^st and July 12^th, even in the midst of a pandemic, 573 formerly homeless individuals have been successfully housed in Edmonton.

“We are able to use data to improve housing programs, to better identify individuals who may require a higher level of support to stay safely housed, and to minimize the cracks that people may have been slipping through before. We still have some work to do, and we also see more potential if we can continue to increase the sophistication of our data systems and improve efficiency in data collection, but the overall approach has been successful and there is more and more collaboration in the sector.”

Data System

COVID-19 has shown that housing really is the best front-line of defense against a major public health crisis, but individuals experiencing homelessness simply don’t have the ability to shelter in place. The emergency supports and services that had been offered at the Edmonton Expo Centre were a crucial part of the response effort. 

“We have noticed that a proportion of individuals who have met with housing workers at the EXPO Centre are new to Edmonton’s list of people requiring housing assistance,” Duncan mused, “The exact reasons for this inflow into homelessness are unclear at this time, and right now, we do have some slack in the system. But if spacing requirements [for physical distancing] are increased, the data shows the possibility that occupancy could outstrip existing emergency shelter capacity.”

Having the use of a large, adaptable and centralized space like the Edmonton Expo Centre was an important component in being able to effectively support this vulnerable population during this time, while also adhering to the physical distancing guidelines laid out by the Province of Alberta. 

“By continuing to collaborate within the sector, with all levels of government, with health and justice systems, among others, we can continue to take big strides towards ending homelessness in Edmonton during this public health crisis,” Duncan adds, “Data can point to what the potential barriers are, but it has also demonstrated just how solvable homelessness is. We will eventually move beyond COVID-19, and we can be ending homelessness while we do that, the recovery from this can be for everyone.”

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Services are being provided at the Edmonton EXPO Centre for Edmontonians experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic, including pet friendly space and pet supplies. For more information on the supports and services available visit our COVID-19 Resources page.

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Pets can be an incredible source of emotional support, and this is certainly true for our community members that are without a place to call home. When COVID-19 impacted our community so profoundly, the good people at VCA Canada Riverbend Veterinary Hospital recognized that some very specific support was needed, and they stepped up to provide what help they could. 

“Homeward Trust does an exceptional job of caring for Edmontonians and we are always proud to support them. After the cancellation of Homeless Connect, we anticipated that our community partners may need supplies for their pet parents and we wanted to help.”

For those experiencing homelessness there is no shortage of stress and worry, and if they also have pets to care for that stress is further compounded. A big part of what the semi-annual Homeless Connect events provide is some relief of that stress while people begin to engage with needed supports, services and ultimately begin the process to move out of homelessness. VCA Canada Riverbend Veterinary Hospital regularly donates pet supplies to these events, but because of the restrictions necessitated by COVID-19 the spring event had to be cancelled. When they were made aware of the services and shelter being provided at the Edmonton Expo Centre, they reached out to Nestlé Purina PetCare who then provided an entire pallet of pet food and supplies.

“As a proud member of the Edmonton area community, we are happy to help support its citizens and their pets during this challenging time. As pet people, we know that pets and people are better together, and that’s never been truer than during times of crisis,” says Fiona Provan of Nestlé Purina PetCare.

On behalf of everyone delivering and receiving support at the Edmonton Expo Centre during this public health crisis, we want to extend our sincerest thank-you to both of these community-minded organizations for their generosity and thoughtfulness. 

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JILL KELLAND

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Shortly before COVID-19 began to have such a profound impact on everyone in our community, Homeward Trust Edmonton hosted the annual ROOPH Awards, recognizing outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses that are working to address affordable housing and homelessness initiatives in Edmonton.

The Larry Shaben Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Housing Sector is presented to an individual that has exemplified true leadership and affected change at a community and systemic level. The winner of this award is someone who has had a long-term impact on affordable housing or homelessness in the Edmonton region by demonstrating and encouraging collaboration with other organizations and sectors. This is an individual with a reputation for making a genuine difference to housing and enhancing lives.

This year’s Larry Shaben Award recipient is Jill Kelland of Alberta Health Services.

Jill Kelland is an accomplished leader, change agent and community builder who has worked with Alberta Health Services for over 34 years. Jill is known for her advocacy of system transformation and has worked tirelessly to create a spectrum of housing options and supports for people struggling with homelessness, addictions, mental health challenges and complex medical issues. Over the past 10 years, Jill has focused on creating a low barrier spectrum of culturally sensitive, permanent and transitional housing options for individuals facing homelessness, experiencing homeless or living in substandard accommodations. Throughout her career, Jill has demonstrated the ability to work in multi-partnered, complex environments and envision new ways of providing better housing options or options where none existed previously.

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Check our the rest of the 2020 ROOPH Award winners here!

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Karen has been volunteering with Homeward Trust for 10 years. Her involvement began in 2010, when she volunteered as an “engager,” informing people about the organization and its resources. She has participated in several events since then, including Homeless Connect, Homeless Count, the 20,000 Homes Campaign, and Welcome Home. In addition to volunteering at Homeward Trust, Karen volunteers for PrayerWorks at St. Faith’s Church, community leagues, casino events for Central Lions, and more. 

What does volunteering mean to you? 

Every person should volunteer. It means the opportunity make others feel noticed, appreciated and to help lift people up from situations they want to escape.  

Why is it volunteering important to you?  

I try to volunteer with the population that has been forgotten—the homeless. It always surprises me when I hear the attitudes of people towards the homeless. I cannot believe in this marvelous country so many people have no shelter. My heart breaks for those living on the street. 

How are you navigating volunteering amid the pandemic? 

I am volunteering more at PrayerWorks. We are cooking every Friday to provide food for marginalized individuals. 

Can you tell us a favourite memory from when you volunteered with us?  

My very first Homeless Connect. I was an engager and I truly enjoyed going out in the community and speaking to the people. I love the opportunity Homeward Trust offers to meet, talk to and assist the homeless/marginalized population.  

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Brian started volunteering with Homeward Trust in 2012 after retiring from the United Way. At Homeward Trust, Brian has volunteered countless hours at Homeless Connect, Homeless Count, Toque Tuesday and also served as Sponsorship Chair on the Coordinating Committee in 2015-2016. In addition to volunteering at Homeward Trust, Brian volunteers at several other organizations in the community including: Habitat for Humanity, the Edmonton Food Bank, the Seniors Financial Empowerment Network, Alberta Clinical Research Consortium, Edmonton Fringe Festival and more. 

What does volunteering mean to you? 

This is a tough one. In some cases, like festivals, it’s just a selfish desire to help sustain something (the performing arts) that I personally enjoy. In the case of helping [not-for-profit] agencies and health projects, it just means being able to look beyond my own needs; contribute to something outside of my personal circle; express gratitude for my own good fortune; have an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life; and to be able to contribute to changes in how some things are managed in the future.  

Why is volunteering important to you?

I’m in my 70’s now and past career goals. Volunteering gives me that sense of purpose and fulfillment. A rewarding task to focus on and satisfaction that comes at the end of a project. At times it also reminds me how fortunate I am and it humbles me. It reminds me to be thankful for my own good fortune and reasonably good health and reminds me not to take myself too seriously when I complain about something that’s happened. 

How are you navigating volunteering at this time? 

Like many, I’m going a bit stir-crazy. Most activities have been cancelled and I miss the activity.  I’ve been fortunate to be involved in some Zoom Meetings and some online projects to work on. Given my wife’s health issues and compromised immune system, I’m choosing to stay close to home and foregoing the few active opportunities still out there, e.g. volunteering to sort at the Food Bank.

What is a favourite memory you have from volunteering with Homeward Trust?

I tell everyone about Homeless Connect and have convinced many to join us volunteering. It always gives me pleasure to talk to them after and see how their impression of someone who is homeless has changed after seeing whole families, young children, senior citizens at the event. 

One story that sticks out is from a few years back. I was talking to another volunteer who was grumbling about being accosted by a homeless person as she was coming into the event centre. She was quite upset that he would be asking her for money and she proceeded to tell him she herself was on a limited budget, but was coming to spend the day volunteering. After listening to her rant, the gentleman apologized for bothering her and asked if she would like some of the McDonald’s discount coupons he had. I thought that was priceless. 

Another memory is from doing the homeless count. We were working at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre that year. An obviously intoxicated gentleman started talking to us quite loudly and belligerently; telling us a bit about how tough he was; he’d spent time in jail, he wasn’t afraid of anything; etc, etc. My wife was a bit apprehensive, but before long, he was our best friend and spent the rest of the evening sitting and helping us with the count. 

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Read our past blog posts here.

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This holiday season is particularly special for Ezra and his 18-year-old Brussels Griffon Shih Tzu mix, Muppet. This month, the duo celebrates one year of being housed through Homeward Trust’s Housing Support program. 

Before he had been housed, Ezra and Muppet had experienced homelessness for a year in Edmonton before securing permanent housing. However, Ezra had really been without stable housing for 15 years.  

“I had a piece of property [on Hatzic Island, east of Mission, BC] but I just had a shed on it,” he explains. “It wasn’t considered a ‘dwelling’ since it didn’t have an occupancy permit. I would spend some summers and some winters there, but I typically would try to find alternative accommodation for the winter.”

Ezra was a full-time driver for a furniture moving company, which required him to drive across the country or into the USA doing moves for the Department of National Defence and the RCMP. He often would sleep in his truck or pitch a tent and camp out.

“You can live outside in BC in the summertime and nobody looks at you funny because everyone is camping,” he says. “I would tour around, moving furniture across the country. It was like a paid vacation all summer.”

Ezra reveals that he didn’t know that his provisional accommodations categorized him as homeless, or what the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness describes as experiencing hidden homelessness. Those experiencing hidden homelessness could be couch surfing, staying with friends or family, sleeping in cars, abandoned buildings or other precarious accommodation.

Ezra admits that he continued to sleep in those provisional accommodations even after moving to Edmonton in 2015. He started his own moving company and would sleep in his truck or his workshop between trips. 

“I didn’t know anything else,” he reflects.

An unfortunate turn of events resulted in Ezra losing everything, including his company, vehicles, trailer and other hard assets. With nowhere to go, Ezra was forced to seek out support and services from emergency shelters, food banks and other homeless-serving organizations. Ezra and Muppet could not stay at any of the shelters in the city due to their no-pet policies, leaving Ezra to find alternate accommodations.

Getting rid of Muppet wasn’t an option and Ezra was determined to find somewhere for them to stay.

In the meantime, Ezra managed to find an empty security hut with heat, which he transformed into a makeshift living space for himself and Muppet during the winter by bringing in cushions, a mattress and Muppet’s dishes.

“I lived in there. I had to be super careful that no one saw my footprints in the snow. Security went by there 10 to 20 times a day,” he says. “I did all of this for Muppet. I wouldn’t give up Muppet for anything in the world.”

In October 2018, through the recommendation of a counselor at Boyle Street Community Services, Ezra visited Homeward Trust’s Coordinated Access service for their Housing Support programs. It wasn’t until the intake interview that Ezra learned that he had, in fact, been in and out of homelessness for the last 15 years and had been chronically homeless for one year. 

“I had no fixed address. I was living in a 22-foot trailer in Edmonton,” he says. “When they broke it down, they realized that I had been homeless for a while.”

Ezra said it took 30 days for him and Muppet to get housed.  

“I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “They told me that I would be housed before Christmas and then on December 21, 2018, I got my first home.”

Ezra was first housed in a downtown apartment but relocated to a one-bedroom unit in Belgravia, where he and Muppet now live.

As for the holidays, Ezra admits he doesn’t have any traditions since his parents passed away in 2006 and 2007, but he does like to cook, and he plans on making a turkey dinner and invite some friends over.

“Muppet definitely appreciates it,” he says.

One thing is for certain: Ezra and Muppet are grateful to be in their own home after years of experiencing homelessness and look forward to relaxing at home for their one-year anniversary of being housed.