A Red Deer organization that helps the homeless says budget shuffling by the city may put people back on the streets.
Central Alberta Safe Harbour Society provides affordable housing to people transitioning away from homelessness. The group has four houses and 21 rooms in Red Deer.
However, a recent funding shuffle by the city has cut the budget for Safe Harbour in half. As a result, six people will have to be evicted and could possibly end up back on the streets.
“Obviously, we are going to work with people to get them housed – re-housed – but we can’t guarantee that,” Safe Harbour’s Tricia Haggarty-Roberts said. “So it puts a lot of strain on our staff, but that’s a drop in the bucket compared to someone who is saying, ‘I’m being evicted.'”
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The city says there is a finite amount of money and public consultations determined more cash should be directed toward helping people who are living on the streets. That means less money for social housing.
“This has drastically helped me,” Carl Stewart said of Safe Harbour.
One year ago, he was either sleeping in a shelter or on the street.
“You don’t want to ask people for help. You get that isolation. You disconnect from people. It’s worrisome and it’s hard.”
In August, Stewart was connected with Central Alberta’s Safe Harbour Society. He had a roof over his head, low rent and social support.
Stewart doesn’t have plans to move out, but six others will be since the organization doesn’t have enough money to keep helping them.
“We need more affordable housing so this makes no sense whatsoever,” Haggarty-Roberts said.
“I feel like a plate spinner with 21 plates in the air and if we let one drop, that’s a life that’s dropping and that’s too precious for us to think of.”
The previous funding model provided enough support for Safe Harbour to have 1.5 staff positions. The new funding model, under which Safe Harbour will receive $75,000, will allow for 0.8 positions. However, with some additional money from grants, its total budget will be $90,000. They used to receive about $185,000.
“Over the years, we’ve allowed our services to expand to include a much broader scope of people,” Haggarty-Roberts explained. “When in fact, if we are going to end homelessness, we need to focus on those people who have been experiencing homelessness the most and for the longest.”
Scott Cameron is in charge of social planning for the city. He hopes the housing organization will be able to find a way to continue its work.
“Perhaps Safe Harbour has an opportunity to explore other options both in their existing resources or to be creative in terms of other options for that particular property.”
The new funding model is scheduled to be in place for the next three years. It comes into effect July 1 – the same day the six people have to be out of their homes.
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