Dr. Carol Forchuk headed a community forum on homelessness in Prince Albert on Thursday. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

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It was only about one and a half hours into a presentation on homeless data at the Prince Albert Métis Friendship Centre but Brian Howell said he had already gotten some useful information.

paNOW caught up with Howell, the head of Riverbank Housing (a local affordable housing initiative) at a community forum earlier on Thursday, where he said the situation in the north is more dire than people thought.

“Some of the discussion we’ve had was very interesting, talking about smaller communities and the impact that those numbers aren’t being counted have overall and social policy,” he said. “Especially a significant part of the northern and Indigenous population. I hadn’t really thought of that at all.”

Another note is that the increase in homelessness is not just in Prince Albert, it is across the country.

While some policy changes at the provincial level have played a role, such as ending payment of rents and utilities directly to landlords, the change in the housing situation has made a big difference.

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That was part of the information provided by Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, a researcher with the Lawson Health Research Institute, which has federal funding to collect data from across Canada.

“The homelessness experience varies significantly across Canada, especially within different rural and remote regions of the country,” Forchuk said.

Getting more data and trying to co-ordinate information already available, like provincial health data, is one of the changes she sees as valuable to gauge the extent of the problem.

They have been collecting data from 28 distinct communities, including Prince Albert and have spoken to 400 homeless people and 190 service providers.

In certain areas, remote work options have allowed people with more resources to ‘move to the country.’ That has increased the value of those homes and rents, as some people were evicted from long term rentals, so the owner could sell the home.

Many smaller communities also have insufficient or no shelter space. Last winter, Stepping Stones in Prince Albert turned away about 14 people every day and still housed 445 individuals.

A homeless camp in front of the Margo Fournier Centre last summer. (file photo/paNOW)

Forchuk talked about one northern community, where the homeless showed her how they chose which dumpster or donation bin they would sleep in

The COVID-19 pandemic had a direct impact on homeless populations with lower vaccination rates, because of a lack of access and a resulting death rate almost equivalent to what seniors experienced.

People told interviewers that they often felt unsafe inside shelters, so they opted to live outside. People who were couch-surfing previously found themselves on the street.

Further consequences included more fires as people tried to stay warm, and more deaths from exposure for those with limited outdoors skills.

One thing Howell was glad of was that he and other people who work in housing actually heard the results back.

Often they contribute data but never learn the results, he said.

“We certainly push for more national research, especially in the remote, rural areas, I think there may be more than we think. Nipawin, Meadow Lake, all those northern forest fringe communities, for sure.”

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com