In Edmonton, 25% of people currently experiencing homelessness are youth under the age of 24 (Edmonton’s By Name List, July 12, 2021). This includes youth who are unsheltered, provisionally accommodated or staying at an emergency shelter.
Edmonton’s Community Strategy to End Youth Homelessness identifies Intervention and Prevention as one of three core strategies to eliminate or reduce the risks of youth becoming homeless.
The following is an account of Debra’s experience of homelessness and her journey of getting housed. The story was written by Debra but has been edited for clarity.
Debra is a current participant of the Indigenous Housing First Program at Native Counselling Services of Alberta (NCSA). The Indigenous Housing First program at NCSA embraces the principle of Housing First and provides housing and follow-up support to Indigenous people experiencing homelessness.
With Father’s Day just around the corner, we’ve put together a gift guide featuring some local businesses that give back to the community. These companies donate some or all of the sales towards helping our vulnerable neighbours.
This National Volunteer Week, we thank our dedicated and compassionate volunteers for their time, experience, and skills to help our community members at risk of or experiencing homelessness. We thank you today, and everyday, for the contributions you have made towards our collective goal in ending homelessness.
Supporting our community is important to us. With Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 9) a few weeks away, we’ve put together a gift guide featuring BIPOC female-owned businesses in Edmonton and Calgary. Whether you’re shopping for mom, a mom-to-be, aunt, grandmother or any other special figure in your life, show your support for BIPOC businesses by shopping these great gifts.
An extreme cold snap, with temperatures dropping to the -30s, is just another reason for people to stay indoors.
Add windchill and the outdoors become even more treacherous for Edmontonians experiencing homelessness. These winter conditions can be life-threatening and require a highly coordinated and responsive plan to ensure everyone has a safe and warm place to go.
Ben did what lots of young people do with their hard-earned money: spend it.
He liked hanging out with his friends and going out on the weekends. He had a steady job, working at a moving company, and he had his own apartment.
Unfortunately, some bad decision-making and reckless spending habits led him into a path of homelessness.
Not one program or program type can reduce homelessness in the community—it is the relationship between interventions that ultimately drive community goals of ending homelessness. Short-term housing solutions provide a temporary solution to bridge the gap from homelessness to permanent housing by providing individuals with wrap-around support and services to help stabilize their lives.
Gifts that give back to the community
This holiday season as you shop for your loved ones, consider purchasing locally and/or supporting companies that give back to the community. All the items listed in this holiday gift guide support Canadian companies that give back to the community.
Part Three: Move-In Day
At this point in the journey out of homelessness a considerable amount of progress has already been made; however, being housed in the Housing First program isn’t just about securing documentation, income, and an apartment. This process is also about setting participants up with the necessities involved in making that space a HOME.
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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.