April 9, 2021
The City, Community and Social Services, Alberta Health Services, Homeward Trust and agencies have been actively planning to provide 24/7 shelter and day services for vulnerable groups after Tipinawâw at the Edmonton Convention Centre and other temporary accommodations close this spring.
“COVID-19 has increased both the number of people falling into homelessness and the gap in services to support them. With careful consideration of available funding, spaces at facilities and resources, we are able to keep people safe during the pandemic by providing essential services and leading to greater housing outcomes,” said Christel Kjenner, Director of Housing and Homelessness, City of Edmonton. “None of this would be possible without the tremendous collaboration of all parties involved.”
Overnight shelter plan
The pandemic response sees a transition from a small number of large congregate facilities to smaller, more dispersed service locations across the city. This approach helps to limit the potential for large outbreaks and allows for services to be tailored at each location.
- Tipinawâw, the temporary shelter at the Edmonton Convention Centre, is scheduled to close on April 30. Individuals staying overnight at Tipinawâw will be supported in accessing other shelter spaces.
- Mustard Seed closed its temporary 99 Street shelter location March 31 and transitioned services to several churches on the south side of the river and to the Strathcona Neighbour Centre.
- Hope Mission will move operations from Commonwealth Stadium to the Spectrum building, part of the former horse race track site south of the EXPO Centre. The City will license the Spectrum building to Hope Mission for temporary use.
These overnight spaces will be supplemented with up to 200 new transitional housing spaces primarily funded by Homeward Trust through federal funding and the province has indicated there are enough shelter beds to accommodate everyone who needs emergency shelter.
Day drop-in services
Consistent with the approach above, the plan to meet essential needs for individuals during spring and summer includes extending day drop-in hours at existing locations and creating new day-drop in spaces as follows:
- City owned building at 10542 105 Street with 57 new spaces
- Boyle Street Community Services with 45 additional spaces and extended hours from five to seven days per week
- Bissell Centre to reopen 50 spaces with extended daytime hours, seven days per week
Together, this plan ensures 152 additional daytime spaces will be available at any given time to serve up to 695 unique visitors each day. It also ensures access to services will be provided for longer periods of time each week.
Temporary mobile washrooms with attendants will be placed in up to six locations downtown and other business areas from May to October, staffed with attendants to monitor, clean and ensure the safety of users. In addition, a coordinated approach to encampments is being developed with agency partners and Edmonton Police Service focused on housing support.
Today Council approved $8.1 million of the City’s COVID-19 Financial Stabilization Reserve to cover costs associated with the plan.
