A report will be presented at Saskatoon city hall next week looking at homelessness and the city’s housing program over the past few years.
The report said the Housing Business Plan was started back in 2013 and helped define the city’s role in housing.
“Housing is not a municipal core service or role. However, the City understands that permanent, affordable, appropriate, safe, and secure housing is the necessary foundation for building healthy, well-educated, creative, and economically viable communities,” reads the 2013 plan.
The city said the plan concluded in 2022, but the new housing strategy won’t be ready until mid-2024.
It added that the housing business plan supported the creation of 3,310 units and averaged about 300 units per year.
The city said the new strategy may result in several changes as it considers what role the city plays within housing.
Within the report was a Saskatoon Homelessness Report Card for 2022 from the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership.
It said 45 per cent of renter households spend over 30 per cent of their income on rent and utilities.
A count that took place in April of last year found there were 550 homeless people in the city. 414 people were sheltered, 136 were unsheltered.
Breaking down that number, 50 per cent of those people were women, 90.1 per cent were Indigenous, 20 per cent were children and youth, and 17.9 per cent were part of the 2SLGBTQ community.
Almost 60 per cent of the people tallied had been homeless for longer than six months out of the year.
The report card also looked at the services accessed in 2022, showing libraries were the number one service accessed by homeless people.
Almost 40 per cent of homeless people in the city were on a waitlist for housing.
The report card went over many other statistics, but also came up with a summary of what important actions can be taken to reduce homelessness.
Among that list included things like helping people get I.D., more addiction treatment services, more funding and support, better managed housing and lower rent.
A close-out report was also given for the housing business plan, giving a list of housing targets the city has had since 2013.
The city said targets for different types of attainable housing were set each year based on the projected need.
A chart looked at the targeted and actual results of different housing types, including purpose built rentals, affordable ownership, affordable rental, secondary suites and entry-level ownership.
Targets were exceeded in 2013, but marks were missed in several other years.
The report says a second project milestone report is expected in December that will include an engagement report.
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