Barb Gustafson
CFUW Prince Albert
Imagine you were suddenly without many of the comforts you enjoy every day: a warm and secure home; clean clothes, suited to the weather; food in the cupboard; a washroom for personal hygiene and bathing. What else would you lose if these were taken away? Could you hold a job or enjoy the same circle of friends? How would your sense of dignity, safety, health and self confidence change?
This is the reality for people who are homeless in our city and our country. Without the basics that most of us take for granted, people are left to try to satisfy their needs for food, warmth, cleanliness and connection wherever they can, perhaps with a tent in a treed area, an alcove among businesses, or – if they are fortunate and get there before the beds are all claimed – a spot in a shelter.
A March 2022 count in Prince Albert, coordinated by River Bank Development Corporation, showed 120 individuals experiencing some level of homelessness. That number had increased over the years of counts being done. Daily counts at the Stepping Stones Shelter operating in Prince Albert show numbers well beyond the capacity of the 45-bed facility.
Who are the people using shelters? A 2019 Statistics Canada study showed shelter users were most often young men, unattached/unmarried, and with social assistance as their only regular income. In a 2022 Saskatchewan study, most shelter users identified as Indigenous and many had spent time in foster care during their youth.
Housing is a human right
“The right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right for everyone in Canada,” said Marie-Josee Houle, federal housing advocate, in a report co-authored by the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan. “It means that all people are equally entitled to live in dignity in a safe, accessible, and secure home.” The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) has passed resolutions dating back 25 years urging action by governments at all levels on homelessness and housing.
What will address that human right may be very different from what many of us think of as housing, typically seen as self-contained apartments or houses. A shelter is a place to meet immediate needs on a very basic level. It provides warmth from our winters, food, basic hygiene and sometimes clothing. For the person faced with not having any of these, it is literally a lifesaver. Even a temporary shelter can help a person chart a plan to improve their life. The 2021 Prince Albert Winter Homelessness Count reported that most sheltered people had some plan to leave homelessness but most of those who were unsheltered had no plan to leave homelessness.
What can Prince Albert do?
At present, the YWCA operates the Stepping Stones Shelter on the Exhibition Grounds. This was established as a temporary measure but has continued for more than two years. The location and the building are not ideal, being distant from other services and without full heating/cooling to comfortably house 45 people a night. As well, the shelter doesn’t fully meet the needs of the community, with 20 or more people often turned away due to lack of space.
The provincial government has recognized the need for shelters in Saskatchewan cities and has offered funding to renovate an existing building or build a new one to serve as a permanent shelter. It would need more space than at present for cots, washrooms and showers, food preparation and staff offices. The YWCA has investigated numerous locations but has met resistance for various reasons: fear of having a transient population nearby homes or businesses, the perceived danger of those who use shelters and, generally, a sense that this facility should be somewhere else, “not in my backyard.”
Yet, those in need of temporary housing are not going to disappear if we ignore them. We all have a right to be safe, warm and fed. A permanent shelter is needed and the best place for it should be based on logic: meeting immediate needs and supporting people to improve their lives. The decision should not be based on fear.
What Prince Albert can do is to have an open discussion of the need and the right place for a shelter within our whole community. This discussion should be led by our mayor and city council with the involvement of organizations, especially the YWCA, and open to all residents. Having closed-door meetings with a select group of people only builds more fear and suspicion.
And, in considering a location, we should set aside our own concerns for a moment and think of the people for whom the shelter will be their home, at least for a time. It should be located within easy walking distance of other services. It should be where it will be safest, easily reached by emergency services if needed. It should be large enough to protect more, if not all, of those in need. And, once a logical choice is made, we need to come together as a community to support that choice.
Barb Gustafson is the president of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) Prince Albert. CFUW Prince Albert is one of 94 clubs in the national organization of the Canadian Federation of University Women. The local club, established in 1931, continues to provide education and human rights advocacy and support.
