Shelter hits snag

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Regardless of secured funds and ongoing efforts for the construction of a transitional homeless shelter in Strathmore, the town’s building code requirements necessary to transform the Harvest Healing Centre Church into an overnight facility are prompting a high-priced impediment.
Strathmore’s local politicians allocated $40,000 towards the project’s capital costs on Dec. 16, to aid in upgrades and modifications pertinent to classify for the necessary insurance. Despite the green light on the monetary front – funds which were delivered and are currently sitting in a separate account – construction is at a standstill without a development permit which is contingent on building codes being observed. John Hilton-O’Brien, the president of the project’s non-profit society Strathmore Overnight Shelter (SOS), which is in the process of coming to fruition, was made aware of the hiccup on Jan. 12, that the proposal of combining a church and a shelter under the same roof would require a sprinkler system installation – a solution involving an estimated $100,000 price-tag.
“We’re looking to see if we can get someone to help with the sprinkler system,” said Hilton-O’Brien. “Since we’re putting a church and a shelter together under the same roof we need to have a big sprinkler system. Those can be expensive. We don’t have any solid figures yet.”
Although the society is hopeful of attracting either a sprinkler system donation or additional monetary contributions, other options include renting a house or moving another building onto the property. However, Hilton-O’Brien is aware that both options come with challenges, stating a rental would draw the homeless population into residential areas and possibly raise concerns in the neighbourhood. Purchasing a house that is being moved off of someone’s land and then relocated the Harvest Healing Centre Church’s property could also cost upwards of $30,000 due to transportation costs.
The transitional shelter aims to house those without overnight accommodations while providing a meal the next morning. To qualify for the insurance needed to provide overnight living quarters, the building is in need of upgrades including the installation of showers and added washrooms.
With Strathmore’s freezing winter temperatures and a downturn in the Alberta economy, council acknowledged the demand for the project when providing financial aid. While those in need of such services are often invisible within the community, the extent of rural Alberta’s homelessness has attracted much attention and concern from the government and various researchers.
A research study conducted by University of Calgary PHD students Jeanette Waegemakers Schiff and Alina Turner, Rural Alberta Homelessness, examined the issue in 20 rural communities with populations under 25,000. While the research shows that data is difficult to collect due to the problem being hidden in smaller communities, the definition includes couch surfing, staying with friends and family, overcrowded conditions, living in trailers not suited for human habitation and those living in precarious housing situations, often involving seniors. Such conditions have also been observed in Strathmore.
“You don’t step over people in rural communities as you would in Calgary or Edmonton where the majority of the absolute homeless population would be,” said Turner of Turner Research and Strategy Inc.
“That’s the main finding, that it doesn’t matter whether we’re North, South, East, West, large, small it’s prevalent across Alberta. There’s kind of a juggling with it so is it a local issue, is it a provincial issue, or is it a national issue? There’s funding for initiatives to address that, it’s just that the funding is not necessarily systematic across communities. The seven cities in Alberta get the funds right now for homelessness, which is fine because that’s where the majority of the issue is, but that doesn’t mean the rest of Alberta doesn’t have an issue as well.”
According to the findings, there are 33 women’s shelters in Alberta communities, 15 of which are outside the main cities. In terms of homeless shelters, Strathmore’s would be one of the few. As many residents continue to struggle to make ends meet, Turner believes the economic tumble may become beneficial for Albertans.
“I haven’t heard of any community doing well in this situation unfortunately, but what I think will happen because there’s less migration from outside of Alberta into our province for opportunities, it puts less strain on the housing markets,” she said.
“Interestingly, at least in Calgary when we look at a study that looks at shelter use and economic downturn, we see shelter use go down in economic downturns. In some ways it’s good but of course you’re getting into the other side of the downturn, which is the income side. So just because you might have access to these housing units doesn’t mean you can put food on the table either.”
Strathmore-based churches have seen an influx of people asking for help over the last few months, and are working diligently to work through governance issues, creating the society and board, and investigating their options to have the shelter up and running as quickly as possible. Hilton-O’Brien estimated that with the donation of a sprinkler system, the shelter could be operational within a month.