The province is providing $1 million to create up to 70 additional shelter spaces in Lethbridge over the winter months.
The money comes from a new funding initiative to fight homelessness and addiction across Alberta that was unveiled by Premier Jason Kenney on Saturday, as the UCP government outlined its homelessness action plan.
“We need to change the paradigm so people like that can stay and access services and supports that bridge them into recovery,” Kenney said on Saturday.
It’s a welcomed announcement for city of Lethbridge officials.
“(The) plan they laid out over the weekend is really beneficial to the community,” said Mike Fox, director of community services for the city.
“It matches a lot of the plans the city already had in place and just gives us more synergies in how we’re moving forward.”
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The city is gathering online feedback from residents on a potential interim sober shelter at the former Civic Curling Centre and completed a point-in-time homeless count last week.
The results aren’t finalized but the number is expected to be higher than the previous count in 2018, which identified 223 individuals experiencing homelessness in Lethbridge.
“We know that it has increased considerably,” Fox said.
“Of course, 70 beds is always welcome, but it’s that whole continuum that we need to make sure people aren’t going in and out of housing and they can be stabilized in a secure location.”
Officials added there are still details that need finalizing before the new spaces become available.
“Making sure that we have a location and that it’s set up properly could be a challenge. (Winter) is only a couple months away,” Fox said. “So finding out those details, I’ll be working closely with the province to see what the plan is.”
A spokesperson for Alpha House, the organization that runs the Lethbridge Shelter and Stabilization Centre, provided Global News with a statement on the province’s announcement.
“Alpha House is very pleased to hear winter response funding will be coming to Lethbridge to support (the) homeless shelter,” the statement reads.
“In past winters, Alpha House’s shelter has been over capacity supporting individuals out of the cold so we absolutely see the need for this additional support. We look forward to hearing more from the city about their implementation plans.”
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