(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Homelessness

Groups need to join forces to fight homelessness in PA says researcher

Nov 15, 2022 | 8:38 AM

While Prince Albert has multiple groups trying to fight homelessness, one of the biggest drawbacks is they are not unified, according to a report prepared by Dr. Chad Nilson.

Nilson was hired last year to find out why homelessness is an ongoing and growing concern and report back to council, which he did on Monday, saying that existing groups do not work together.

“I can guarantee you and that’s a big bet, but I’ll wager that bet, that there are already organizations in this community that are commanding dollars for homelessness,” he said during Monday’s council meeting.

The main thing the city can do is get the experts on the same page and working together, a challenge that is not new to city council.

“We’ve been screaming and yelling for at least two and a half years about bringing people together to find solutions because we can’t do it ourselves,” said Coun. Ted Zurakowski.

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Some organizations are territorial when it comes to their funding, he added, and it’s difficult to get some parties like the provincial government to be part of the discussion.

“We’ve been banging on the doors of our provincial counterparts, of our First Nations friends and neighbours and the agencies that provide services provincially and getting them engaged and to the table has been very frustrating,” Zurakowski said.

Nilson said the most ineffective way to deal with the problem is to have groups hold random meetings sharing opinions but having no action plan.

He recommended the city “act as a backbone” and catalyst to harness the efforts of all the groups that are already working on solutions.

Another of Nilson’s recommendations was to change how people talk about homelessness in order to make progress.

“If we properly frame the problem under the domain of chronic risk, we will be in a much better position to solve the challenges that are impacting this community,” Nilson said.

More concrete recommendations include a physical building to start people on the path to resolving the reason they became homeless in the first place such as losing their existing accommodation or in many cases, addictions.

“Another recommendation is for a chronic and acute risk facility of permanent stature that members of this council and other Indigenous governments have already started exploring,” Nilson said.

His recommendations were welcomed by council who said it supports what they have been trying to do already.

Nilson reiterated his point that the pieces are already in the city, they just need to be put together.

Council voted in favour of the recommended action which was to create a Chronic Risk Forum and be responsible for coordinating the effort to do something about the problems identified in the Homelessness Action Initiative and also to consider creating a housing committee.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com