Homelessness a reality in Strathmore and area

By Janet Kanters Times Editor

Across Canada, it is estimated that in rural and remote areas, there are approximately 70,000 to 100,000 homeless people.
And some of those homeless people are right here in the community of Strathmore and area, says Linda Bernicki, social services coordinator with the Town of Strathmore.
Strathmore’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) recently led the Rural Homelessness Estimation Project for Strathmore and area, and Bernicki presented the results at the March 6 town council meeting.
According to Bernicki, it is estimated that it costs around $4.5 billion per year for homelessness in Canada, just in rural areas alone. So why is estimating rural homelessness important and how does it affect Strathmore and area?
“Estimating rural homelessness and (its accompanying) issues assists in developing interventions and programs and resources and services to assist those that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless,” she noted. “It assists in securing grant funding and different government support, and it assists in tracking progress and reducing homelessness.”
The Rural Homelessness Estimation Project came about when the Alberta Rural Development Network applied for funding through the federal government’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy. The provincial FCSS Association was appointed the body to manage the funds in coordination with the Alberta Rural Development Network. When the calls went out to apply to be a part of the project and also for funding to go towards a project, Strathmore FCSS applied for both and was successful.
Bernicki said the project allowed FCSS to gather good data on homelessness in the region.
“We completed 55 surveys in Strathmore and area. Out of the 55, 35 stated that they lived in town in Strathmore, nine stated that they lived in rural Wheatland County, seven stated that they lived in Siksika Nation, and seven stated that they had no fixed community, which means they were either transient or going through town and didn’t really have a place to identify,” she said. “Out of the 55 surveys, 21 people identified as being Caucasian, 19 identified as being First Nation and specifically Blackfoot, eight identified as new Canadians or refugees, and seven people preferred not to respond.”
According to Bernicki, the survey results showed the main reason for housing instability was low income, followed by addiction and abuse. “There’s other reasons for housing instabilities, but those are the ones that we kind of wanted to focus on because they were the top three in the area.”
Bernicki said the survey asked specifically what kind of service needs people required, what kind of service needs FCSS could help with, and what kind of service needs were required in the past.
“The main service needs that people were needing access to were basic needs, which of course covers food, shelter and clothing,” she noted. “Financial and general support services were the next on the list, followed by family and parenting supports.”
Bernicki said a task force to deal with homelessness would involve getting all the service providers together to work not just on the homelessness initiative, but to provide a framework in the area to provide education, identify resources and develop policy that will assist and reduce the number of individuals and families experiencing unstable housing.
“There’s an opportunity now for the task force to identify community service needs, build stronger partnerships, provide community education, learn and share about Indigenous protocols and best practices, look at developing coordinated access in the area and looking to become a regional poverty reductions task force,” she said. “What we’re learning through the community is these conversations really haven’t happened at this level before. When we change the conversation from housing and homeless instability to poverty reduction, there’s more response in the community from service providers to take part in the understanding level of that.”
Bernicki emphasized that the issue is not just about homelessness, it’s about the level of risk of becoming homeless.
“One of the reasons we wanted to become involved in this project was looking at more of the prevention of homelessness,” she said. “So those people that are at risk, they may say that their housing is stable but in the next sentence they may also say that they don’t have enough money for food because they’ve used that money for their rent. So, their understanding of their housing stability is different than our interpretation of what that would be.”
Bernicki said a survey will likely be done again in about two years’ time.
“(In the meantime) the next steps and actions are to build a strong foundation with the task force, to bring different partners to the table, and to provide community education, not just to service providers but to the community as a whole.”