Brody Langager
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
The Saskatchewan government has announced a dedicated amount of annual funding to ensure homeless drop-in services are available year-round in Saskatoon.
The $3 million in funding announced Thursday is only running for the next year, but Social Services Minister Terry Jenson said it’s part of a larger provincial plan that will be discussed next year.
He said this predictable funding will better support coordination between the province, city and Indigenous and community partners.
“Our government is responding to rising needs in Saskatoon by providing predictable and consistent annual funding,” Jenson said.
When asked if the money was specifically for Saskatoon’s two drop-in centres — White Buffalo Youth Lodge and Station 20 West — Jenson said they will speak with the city about where services need to expand.
Mayor Cynthia Block said the city and province wanted the community to know they are working to find unhoused people a place to stay during the winter.
“Consistent support means we can better meet the needs of our most vulnerable residents, not just in times of crisis, but every day of the year,” Block said.
“Homelessness is increasing in our city, and we are not getting in front of it. What are we going to do differently?”
Premier Scott Moe thanked Block for offering the guidance that more predictable and sustainable funding would allow for long-range planning to address homelessness.
He said this type of funding wasn’t requested in any Canadian city a decade ago.
Moe noted multi-levels of government are listening to the people they represent. He said he wants to be part of a government that offers those recovery services.
“Those folks, they are someone’s brother or someone’s sister. They are a son or a daughter, and quite likely even a mom or a dad. And they deserve the opportunity to be able to access recovery opportunities and a pathway forward to a home.”
Saskatoon’s drop-in centres
Two drop-in centres were announced in June as a collaboration between the provincial government, the city and Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC).
White Buffalo Youth Lodge is being used as an overnight drop-in centre for kids 16 and older, running from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. It has food, a rest area, as well as an on-site elder, shower and laundry Station 20 West operates from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. It was expected to run until Oct. 31, with warming centres hopefully in place by Nov. 1. The city has yet to announce plans for winter warming centres.
The drop-in centre offers outreach services through STC’s Sawēyihtotān Outreach program, including connections to emergency shelters and housing, and recovery and mental health programs.
The city was responsible for the centres’ facility costs, establishing a capital project called Response to Homelessness with $125,000 being added from the vacant lot and adaptive reuse incentive reserve.
A total of $197,100 was left over in that reserve.
Station 20 West pulled $90,000 from those funds for facility costs, and $35,000 was put toward handing out bottled water.
Block said she doesn’t know if the dedicated provincial funding will replace the city’s capital project, but it will be part of future discussions.
A point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness in Saskatoon last fall identified 1,499 living without permanent shelter in the city — almost three times the number from two years ago.
According to the full report, 315 of those were children — a dramatic increase from the 26 recorded in the 2022 count.
In 2023, the provincial government announced $40.2 million as part of its Provincial Approach to Homelessness.
