Arjun Pillai
Daily Herald
A new low-barrier shelter called New Roots has opened in the basement of the YWCA’s Our House facility, providing enhanced 24/7 emergency shelter for women in Prince Albert.
The ten-bed shelter offers a safe, women-only space for those experiencing a lack of housing. The shelter fills a gap left after the YWCA transferred its larger Stepping Stones Shelter to the Prince Albert Grand Council earlier this year. The shelter was funded by the Government of Saskatchewan, which had previously supported the 45-bed Stepping Stones Shelter.
According to the recent Point-In-Time Count conducted in October 2024, 230 individuals were experiencing homelessness in Prince Albert, up from 120 in 2022, a doubling of the unhoused population.
“We needed to make sure women still had a safe place to go,” said Donna Brooks, CEO of YWCA Prince Albert. “The women didn’t always feel safe in the same room as men, maybe even men who had abused them on the street.”
New Roots is a low-barrier shelter, meaning it accepts clients even if they’re intoxicated, a model designed to reduce access barriers. However, on-site substance use is not allowed.
Open 24 hours a day, the shelter provides a full range of services, including meals, showers, laundry, case management, housing referrals, and connections to addiction and income support programs.
“Every woman has a worker assignment to them,” said Brooks. “We even have an addictions worker in the building.”
Women can access the shelter by ringing the back doorbell at Our House or by calling the facility. It seems anyone who identifies as a woman, is over 18, and is experiencing housing insecurity, regardless of immigration status or background.
New Roots is designed to be more than a short-term solution. Brooks says the goal is to help women move up the housing continuum, whether that means treatment, transitional housing, or permanent support.
“This is part of a long-term solution,” she said. “Some people may prefer a large shelter, but others need something smaller with more services. Shelters like this play an important part in helping people move forward.”
With the lower level of Our House already zoned for shelter use, Brooks said the transition required only minor adjustments before the beds could be opened. Ten of the province-funded beds formerly at Stepping Stones were moved to Our House for New Roots, while the Prince Albert Grand Council continues to operate 35 beds at the exhibition grounds.
Women who are 18 and older can access New Roots by calling 306-930-9305 or ringing the doorbell at the rear entrance of ‘Our House’ (94 15th Street East). More information about the new shelter is available at ywcaprincealbert.ca/our-house.
While New Roots is a smaller space, Brooks says it fills a critical need in the city, one that focuses not just on the immediate shelter, but on helping women build toward long-term stability.
