The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) kept the focus on homelessness at its September general meeting, inviting City of Prince Albert Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Manager Anna Dinsdale to explain how the city is working to tackle complex social challenges.
CFUW president Barb Gustafson says the issue remains top of mind for members a year after the club last hosted a speaker on the topic.
“It is somewhat disheartening to think that it was a year ago that we had Donna Brooks from the YWCA come and speak to us, and the hope was that there would be a resolution,” Gustafson said. “So here we are a year later, and it’s still not truly resolved, in that there’s still talk about where a temporary shelter will be located and certainly not a permanent shelter.”
Dinsdale guided attendees through the city’s CSWB framework, a process she described as a cycle of communication, collecting data, building consensus, and working with the community to develop solutions.
“This isn’t just a city hall project,” she said. “It has to be owned by the community if it’s going to work.”
One of the evening’s key visuals was a jigsaw slide, with housing, mental health, addiction, poverty, food security, and gang involvement pictured as puzzle pieces that must fit together to address root causes.
“You can’t solve homelessness by working on just one piece,” Dinsdale said. “It’s about connecting the pieces so people don’t keep cycling through crisis.”
She stressed the importance of upstream solutions, programs and supports that prevent crises before they happen, and said progress is measured not just in reduced calls for services but in long-term stability for individuals.
Housing and emergency resources
Attendees also saw a slide mapping the city’s current emergency housing resources. The chart showed where men, women, children, and other vulnerable groups can go for shelter, as well as gaps in services that remain.
Dinsdale pointed to the city’s upcoming complex needs centre as an important step to divert intoxicated or distressed individuals away from police cells and emergency rooms. “We need the right place for people to go when they’re in crisis,” she explained.
Gustafson said the presentation reminded members that a shelter is only part of the solution.
She was really making the point that a shelter, an emergency shelter, is only one part of a wide spectrum of housing in the community,” Gustafson said. “The work can’t stop just with that.”
A section of the presentation focused on the alcohol and substance use spectrum, a visual tool that shows stages ranging from no use to experimenting to problem use and dependency. Dinsdale said the goal is to intervene early, ideally before people reach crisis levels that require police or hospital involvement.
Much of the discussion centred on collaboration between city departments, health and social agencies, and community groups. Dinsdale said the CSWB office is working to build consensus among partners and develop data that helps the council and residents see whether strategies are working.
Audience questions touched on how residents can support these efforts, with Dinsdale encouraging participation in upcoming community consultations and solution-building forums.
Gustafson said CFUW members are following developments closely and want to see enough space for everyone who needs help.
Personally, I would love to see enough shelter beds to take in everyone who is in need and who is willing to go to a shelter,” she said. “I understand 45 beds is a starting point, and it may not be enough, but it would be wonderful to feel that everybody who needs a place to stay has a place to stay, especially as we move into the winter months.”
City council has scheduled a public hearing for October 6 to decide whether to approve the contract zoning for the proposed 45-bed shelter at 650 Exhibition Drive.
