Saskatoon Indian and Metis Friendship Centre amplifies voices of those experiencing homelessness

The Saskatoon Indian and Metis Friendship Centre (SIMFC) has put together a report of stories told by those experiencing homelessness.

Saskatoon Homelessness Voices 2022 was formed to provide some perspective on the thoughts, barriers and hopes from members of the homeless population.

“SHIP (Saskatoon Housing Initiative Partnership) did a point-in-time count in a snapshot. They originally did one in 2018, and then they did one in 2022. And then recent evidence, from the point-in-time count, indicated that homelessness had doubled,” SMIFC Executive Director Raymond Laliberte told Global News.

In March, SIMFC organized Homeless Education Day. It was a chance for members of the homeless community to voice their concerns and offer solutions that they believe would be helpful to them.

“We certainly have to rethink our strategy in terms of how we’re going to get those stories out,” he said.

The report highlights 15 stories told by individuals at the Homeless Education Day event highlighting issues including freezing weather, stereotypes and substance use as well as the challenges of finding work and a place to live.

Laliberte said they’re taking a community-based team approach.

“You go to the most impacted group of people … and you get solutions from then. And that’s the strategy that SIMFC has used and will continue to use,” he explained.

Laliberte said a homeless urban board was formed that includes members of the homeless population to work towards change.

He said this initiative could not have been possible without his partners including the Saskatoon Housing Initiative and Partnership, the Hospital Community Foundation, United Way and both provincial and federal government funding.

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