Western Standard - Furthering reconciliation through emergency shelter

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00:14:28.000 Thank you, old agency drummers, thank you.

00:14:50.000 Again, with that, we want to continue, and as stated, again, we are very, very proud

00:14:57.320 of our partnership with the with the government of Alberta with the city of Lettsbridge this is

00:15:02.680 Blackfoot traditional homeland for us so definitely that acknowledgement we are so appreciative so at

00:15:09.000 this point I will call on Minister Newdorf to make some remarks thank you thank you everyone

00:15:20.040 it's wonderful to be here this morning you may have noticed me arriving slightly late and out

00:15:26.360 of breath i apologize i was trapped with a couple other things i might need to ask somebody for a

00:15:32.120 ride later is my truck's probably being towed right now but again thank you very much to the

00:15:39.560 the shelter for their hospitality and if i can't get a ride hopefully i'll be able to use one of

00:15:44.520 the mats tonight but this is a very significant service that we provide that our first nations

00:15:53.720 partnership provides for uh a significant demographic demographic of people in lethbridge

00:16:00.520 and i want to express how excited i am for this significant uh development on our ongoing efforts

00:16:05.320 to address homelessness here in lethbridge this collaboration is a testament to our commitment

00:16:11.000 to providing essential support for those experiencing homelessness in lethbridge we

00:16:15.000 understand the increasing complexity of this issue and are taking substantial steps to address it

00:16:20.120 comprehensively i am delighted that the blood tribe department of health will continue to operate

00:16:25.160 the emergency shelter spaces as they have been doing since january 2023 their dedication to this

00:16:31.560 cause has been invaluable and we are grateful for their ongoing partnership the blood tribe

00:16:37.080 is deeply integrated into our community and this project ensures that they will continue to take a

00:16:42.200 leading role in supporting our community homelessness is a multi-faceted challenge

00:16:47.480 that demands collaborative efforts and innovative solutions this capital grant is a tangible

00:16:52.680 demonstration of our commitment to addressing homelessness and providing sustainable solutions

00:16:57.320 for the long term we are dedicated to creating a brighter and more secure future for all of

00:17:03.160 lethbridge and alberta working together to build a society that leaves no one behind and with that

00:17:08.600 i would like to invite my colleague the honorable jason nixon minister of community social services

00:17:14.120 and a friend not just to myself but to many in lethbridge and for the work that he's done to

00:17:20.520 to make an effort he amongst all my colleagues he has made numerous trips to lethbridge to see what

00:17:26.040 things are like actually on the ground for the people and particularly those who are

00:17:31.400 suffering homelessness and and i deeply appreciate his commitment to our community

00:17:36.360 and to seeking to solve this in such a comprehensive and collaborative way and with that i'd like to

00:17:41.000 to invite him to share us a few remarks.

00:17:45.740 Nathan Newdorf, everyone.

00:17:49.420 Thank you, first of all, Minister, for that introduction, and thank you for welcoming me

00:17:53.300 to your community yet again.

00:17:54.820 I always love—I'm a sundry boy, as you know.

00:17:59.380 It sometimes feels very far away from here, but it's not that far, and it's always fun

00:18:02.820 to be able to drive down and see the amazing things that are happening in your home.

00:18:05.940 So thanks for having me here, Nathan.

00:18:07.180 I'd like to also thank the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Blood Tribe for welcoming me to Blackfoot Territory.

00:18:13.620 It is always a privilege to come down to Blackfoot Territory and interact with the Blood Tribe

00:18:19.440 and have conversations about the amazing work that is taking place here, the shared work often,

00:18:25.520 to be able to help our communities and continue to make Alberta the best place to live.

00:18:30.900 And I certainly appreciate all your effort.

00:18:32.580 I want to recognize the shelter today, the Blood Department of Health, who a year ago took on, a little over a year ago, I think 2023, took on the operation of this shelter.

00:18:42.180 The province recognized that we need to do something different in Lethbridge and that it had to look different.

00:18:46.760 I'm going to talk a little bit about what we think that means long term.

00:18:50.380 But we did know at that point something had to be done different.

00:18:54.360 And the Blackfoot Department of Health stood up, took on what is a big challenge and have done an excellent job.

00:18:59.800 You know, I grew up in a homeless shelter in Calgary.

00:19:01.720 My dad was the founder of the Mustard Seed in Calgary, so I spent a lot of time in homeless shelters.

00:19:06.640 And I can tell you, this is one of the best shelters in the entire province,

00:19:10.340 and we should give them all a round of applause for the incredible work that they've done.

00:19:17.720 I also want to recognize the city of Lethbridge, who has contributed to this two-part announcement

00:19:22.180 that I'm about to make in a significant way.

00:19:24.740 They have been a tremendous partner with us on the work that we're trying to do

00:19:28.980 in this important city in our province,

00:19:30.900 particularly for helping the most vulnerable in this part of the province.

00:19:34.100 I appreciate all of your effort.

00:19:35.560 You'll hear from the Deputy Mayor later,

00:19:37.480 but it's really something that I think is quite special

00:19:40.540 to see taking place in this area of the province.

00:19:43.960 Now, our government, the Alberta government,

00:19:47.300 is very much committed to doing shelter different.

00:19:49.920 The circumstances that we see taking place on the streets

00:19:53.160 or in our homeless populations across the province

00:19:55.120 have changed considerably from that time, frankly,

00:19:57.800 where I grew up in a homeless shelter. And that has required us to adapt and to make different

00:20:02.960 type of policy decisions to make sure that we can have success to be able to help the individuals

00:20:07.180 that we're working with. And we have made several changes throughout our emergency shelter system in

00:20:12.140 the province in response to that. Stuff like opening up all of our shelter system 24 hours a

00:20:16.900 day, seven days a week. We're adding different types of addiction support connections into our

00:20:21.660 shelters or different types of transition beds that work with our shelter system or adding women 0.99

00:20:27.760 only spaces something that we're seeing particularly in edmonton and calgary right now a need for

00:20:31.840 not domestic violence spaces well that's important and our province is doing it but women only spaces 1.00

00:20:36.320 for a population that are sleeping rough on the streets have a place where they can feel a little

00:20:40.560 bit more safe and secure and one of the biggest things that we've learned is the need to work with

00:20:45.200 indigenous communities to have often sometimes indigenous only shelters but also to make sure

00:20:49.600 that we have indigenous leadership not just a partnership but actually setting up indigenous

00:20:55.200 communities to lead uh inside our largest cities to be able to help work with this important

00:21:00.320 population and nowhere is that more apparent than the city of leftbridge unfortunately the vast

00:21:05.920 majority of our homeless population is indigenous in most of our cities but in leftbridge there is

00:21:10.480 no doubt about that it's somewhere north of 90 depending on who you would talk to statistically

00:21:15.360 but it is a lot and it's also unique because the vast majority of that are blood or certainly

00:21:19.440 blackfoot inside this community and it shows the real need to be connected with the blackfoot 1.00

00:21:24.320 community and with the blood tribe and so this is something that we learned here in leftbridge that

00:21:29.120 we are now copying across the province we just recently opened up the new enoch shelter in the

00:21:33.920 city of edmonton something that i'm very excited about as we work with that important nation up

00:21:38.240 right near our capital city but that started here with the lessons that we learned in this

00:21:42.560 very shelter with the important work that the blood department of health is doing and so we

00:21:46.400 want to continue that work and so today i'm here to announce two things first is that shortly we

00:21:52.400 we will sign an MOU that will extend and make clear that the relationship between the provincial

00:21:57.660 government and the blood department of health to run this facility and to be the leader in working

00:22:03.420 with our homeless population in southern Alberta and Lethbridge will continue and is going to be

00:22:09.420 made clear through that MOU that that will be a long-term relationship and where we want to head

00:22:13.620 going forward. The second thing though is that if we're going to do that the Alberta government

00:22:18.520 It needs to put our money where our mouth is. 1.00

00:22:21.140 And so today I'm very excited to announce two things.

00:22:23.780 First is that the city of Lethbridge, working to help us achieve this ambitious goal, I think, of the city,

00:22:30.420 has made the decision to give a $1.4 million in-kind contribution to this project

00:22:37.100 and to turn over this facility, to donate this existing facility in the land to the Lethbridge Housing Authority,

00:22:43.820 who is our CBO, our community-based organization that we use as our funder to deal with homeless

00:22:49.100 projects. And we will follow suit with that, with an immediate investment of $4 million,

00:22:55.280 a capital grant, to come into place to rebuild this facility, to add over 125 spaces to this

00:23:01.220 facility, and to add over 30 more stabilization beds in this facility. This, I hope, shows the

00:23:13.280 commitment of the Alberta government to doing shelter differently, to recognizing the importance

00:23:17.700 of working with the provincial crown, with our First Nation partners, government to government,

00:23:22.880 to continue to be able to help protect Albertans and to be able to make Albertans' life better.

00:23:28.300 I'm very excited about the work that has taken place down here. I continue to talk about it

00:23:34.080 everywhere else I go on the province. And sometimes I'm worried I put a little too much pressure on

00:23:38.840 the Blood Department of Health down here because I truly believe what we're building down here

00:23:44.900 will be the example to the rest of the province, eventually the example to the rest of the

00:23:48.700 country, and maybe even to the world on how we work with homeless populations and true

00:23:53.200 reconciliation with our nation partners. So thank you for that partnership, and rest assured,

00:23:58.620 as long as I'm the minister, it's going to continue, and we're going to continue to do

00:24:01.660 great things together. Thank you very much for having me.

00:24:08.840 With that said, it's my pleasure to bring up and introduce an individual who certainly does not need an introduction in this room,

00:24:16.660 and that's Councillor Martin Heavyhead, who will say a few words.

00:24:20.340 Again, thank you all for being here, and I really just want to encourage the Blood Department of Health to continue their important work

00:24:26.140 and to encourage this great community to continue to wrap around that shelter

00:24:31.460 and make sure that we have the best organization to care for the homeless anywhere in this province.

00:24:36.060 Thank you very much.

00:24:38.840 Thank you very much, Mr. Nixon. And thank you, Patrick, for those good words. When you

00:24:55.460 met Patrick, you know he's always full of fun. He got stopped in, where was it you got

00:25:02.680 stopped Spokane and he told the police, do you know who I am? So now they all know who he is.

00:25:12.280 But anyway, good morning everybody. I'm proud to be here today. I'm honored to be here

00:25:21.080 on behalf of Blood Tribe Chief and Council to sign the Memorandum of Understanding

00:25:29.080 between Blood Tribe and the province of Alberta. After careful consideration and review of our

00:25:36.040 engagement with the Lethbridge Homeless Shelter, the Blood Tribe Department of Health has agreed

00:25:42.440 to continue with a multi-year agreement to manage the shelter. We hope that solutions will be found

00:25:49.000 for homelessness and drug dependency and to discontinue this service. It is however a reality

00:25:56.840 that homelessness and drug abuse will continue into the foreseeable future we realize also that

00:26:04.360 we are the best organization to provide the best alternatives for our people in this situation

00:26:10.920 as leaders of blood tribe it is our responsibility to to represent the interests and well-being

00:26:17.080 of all blood tribe members regardless regardless of circumstance and location

00:26:22.520 We are proud to stand alongside the frontline staff, our partners and our community members

00:26:31.720 today and every day moving forward.

00:26:35.280 And I'd also like to add that we're managing the shelter, we're trying to provide alternatives

00:26:45.360 for the homeless here in Lethbridge. And mainly because a lot of our members are on the street

00:26:53.680 here in Lethbridge and this is a service that we want to extend out to them. But that doesn't mean

00:27:01.760 that we're responsible for all the homeless in the city of Lethbridge and in Southern Alberta,

00:27:12.640 where we're focused on managing this place and hoping for the best outcomes for our people.

00:27:20.080 So with that, I'd like to thank everybody and I'd like to introduce Charlie Weaselhead,

00:27:27.120 ex-Chief, ex-Chancellor of the University of Lethbridge. What else have you done, Charlie?

00:27:35.040 There are so many things Charlie has done. He's our Member at Large and Vice Chair for the Blood Tribe Department of Health.

00:27:51.040 Believe it or not, I took the wrong notes.

00:27:53.040 We'll have to ad lib here, folks.

00:28:23.040 thank you very much uh okay good morning and welcome uh to our distinguished guests number one

00:28:51.840 and of course our board of health who is here with us today management and staff blood tribe

00:28:57.680 department of health and of course our friends and neighbors from the city of lethbridge so let

00:29:04.400 let me just quickly acknowledge that we're in the territory of the blood tribe proud members of the

00:29:11.440 blackfoot confederacy without the support and assistance of the provincial government

00:29:19.280 we wouldn't be here today. I want to acknowledge Minister Nixon, Minister Newdorf, MLA East,

00:29:30.480 Lethbridge for your support and your assistance that we've come a long ways up to this point.

00:29:38.720 The backbone of who we are and what we are about is our board, our senior management, and of course

00:29:45.280 I always say we're only as good as our frontline workers and I am very very confident that we have

00:29:52.880 the best frontline workers minister in the territory. We've come a long ways you know

00:30:01.120 and I think our board and our management did not hesitate when they were asked to provide services

00:30:07.840 and assist in the blood tribe shelter. It's our concept you know that we continue to help our

00:30:14.960 people wherever they may be off reserve on reserve you know and we have willing partners in the city

00:30:23.200 of Lethbridge as well too. I want to acknowledge Mayor Higgin and the council who have assisted

00:30:31.520 and guided us in this first year of operation. Believe me it wasn't an easy operation.

00:30:37.840 you know there's ups and downs there's hiccups and stuff like that you know

00:30:42.960 but truly when i reflect on this uh last year again if it wasn't for our provincial partners

00:30:52.560 ministers premier danielle smith and everybody that had the confidence in the blood tribe

00:31:00.880 department of health i also want to acknowledge our chief and council who supported us and worked

00:31:07.600 in the background with us to come to come to this point, you know. I've always said, you know,

00:31:14.320 we need to listen to the voices of our most vulnerable people in the city of Lethbridge

00:31:22.000 and beyond that, you know. Their cry for help, you know, has been heard loud and clear,

00:31:31.280 both at the government level and administrative level and on the ground as well too. We will

00:31:39.360 continue to reach out to partners that may assist us in this and I'm very very happy to hear what

00:31:46.720 Minister Nixon said that we are one of the most unique operations you know here in southern

00:31:55.120 Alberta and the travels that I do beyond here the comments that I hear and the people that have

00:32:03.920 visited us Indigenous communities from Saskatchewan and Manitoba have come to visit this operation

00:32:11.280 and take back you know lessons learned with regards to operating within their own community

00:32:20.320 and i guess at the end of the day you know we will continue to do what we think is best

00:32:26.640 for our our people you know so again i want to acknowledge the board of health you know the

00:32:33.200 board of health has come a long long ways and we will continue to work with that you know so again

00:32:39.440 today we are here to celebrate the continuous operation of the wellness and the stabilizing

00:32:46.400 unit. I'm very, very proud to be a member of the Blood Tribe. I also have a title, it's SR,

00:32:54.240 and I'll let you figure that out. Semi-retired. So with that I want to acknowledge our Chair,

00:33:02.960 Martin Heavyhead, Minister Nixon, Minister Newdorf, and of course Robin James, Housing Authority.

00:33:09.520 And it's my pleasure to introduce our next speaker, Deputy Mayor Mark Campbell.

00:33:16.400 Thank you very much, Oki, and an honor to be introduced by a semi-retired guy.

00:33:31.240 That's great. Thank you. I really appreciate it, and I know Mayor Higgin sends his regrets.

00:33:37.440 He really wishes he'd be here on this special day, and thank you to seeing our distinguished

00:33:43.360 minister of the minister um nixon and uh our mla the late uh mason jason nathan newdorf

00:33:54.320 late not late no no not that not that late i meant and i just i just uh i got the text your

00:34:02.540 your truck is in the police compound just so you know okay

00:34:05.140 no i don't i don't give lifts uh want to thank you to the provincial uh the province

00:34:13.200 Alberta, Lethbridge Housing Authority and the Blood Tribe Department of Health for

00:34:16.480 including the City of Lethbridge in this important announcement and it really is.

00:34:20.400 We know managing complex social issues and addressing homelessness requires a collaborative

00:34:25.840 community approach which is what we are excited to see happening here today.

00:34:30.880 The changes coming to the Lethbridge Shelter will help our community take a huge step forward

00:34:35.680 in being able to support our most vulnerable residents in a culturally sensitive way.

00:34:41.360 The City of Lethbridge is proud to support the redevelopment and expansion of the Lethbridge

00:34:45.360 Shelter through an in-kind contribution of the Lethbridge Shelter property to Lethbridge Housing

00:34:50.720 Authority, the LHA. Transferring ownership of the shelter to the LHA will streamline processes,

00:34:56.720 removing the city as the landlord between the province and the agencies it funds to manage

00:35:04.160 and deliver these critical services. We are also extremely grateful to the province of Alberta for

00:35:09.040 the significant funding agreement they have reached with LHA to make this much needed resource

00:35:14.800 a reality for Lethbridge. We're confident this change will create a more efficient and effective

00:35:20.320 system for those needing support in our community. The City is committed to supporting the Lethbridge

00:35:26.800 Housing Authority and the Blood Tribe Department of Health in this transition as we all work

00:35:31.360 together to improve the health and well-being of our community. And now my pleasure to introduce

00:35:37.760 the CAO of Lethbridge Housing Authority, Ms. Robin James.

00:35:48.640 Good morning. On behalf of the Lethbridge Housing Authority, I would like to thank Minister Nixon

00:35:54.160 and the Government of Alberta for their investment of $4 million from the Alberta

00:36:00.080 Housing Partnership Program into the Lethbridge shelter. I'd also like to thank the City of

00:36:04.800 Lethbridge for their investment in kind of 1.4 million dollars of the existing shelter building.

00:36:10.320 This investment signifies more than just financial support. It symbolizes a commitment to the ongoing

00:36:16.320 partnership between the Government of Alberta, the Blood Tribe Department of Health, the City

00:36:20.880 of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Housing Authority. With this fund we're able to expand and enhance

00:36:26.960 shelter facilities ensuring every guest who walks through the door is met with dignity,

00:36:32.160 respect and the tools they need to rebuild their lives. Since becoming a shelter provider and I

00:36:38.800 I've been involved with the Lethbridge Housing for 17 years and I just wanted to share what

00:36:44.880 we've seen in the last year since the Blood Tribe has taken over. So since becoming the shelter 0.99

00:36:50.160 provider the Blood Tribe Department of Health has worked alongside Alberta Health Services

00:36:54.240 creating pathways for individuals in need of physical and mental health supports as well as

00:36:59.120 117 referrals to addiction recovery services in their stabilization beds. Well done, well done.

00:37:12.560 Additionally, their ongoing collaboration with the ID Clinic, Alberta Works, and Lethbridge

00:37:17.520 Housing Authority's coordinated access table, individuals are now being able to begin their

00:37:24.160 journey towards long-term housing stability. Prior to the Blood Tribe coming on, many individuals 1.00

00:37:30.000 would come to us and they would require housing and they didn't have ID and they didn't have

00:37:35.680 any income. Nothing was secured. The Blood Tribe Department of Health has done such an excellent

00:37:40.880 job with their frontline staff bringing us individuals. They've got ID for them. They've

00:37:45.520 stabilized their income. They're bringing someone that we can get them on their feet. It's just such

00:37:50.800 a remarkable partnership we have here in the spirit of collaboration we have the power to

00:37:57.280 elevate individuals to their highest level of independence by coming together we create a

00:38:02.240 supportive environment that fosters growth resiliency and empowerment this collaboration

00:38:08.400 is not just about the bricks and mortar of this building it's about building a community where

00:38:12.800 everyone has an opportunity to thrive by combining our strengths the government of alberta lethbridge

00:38:18.960 Housing Authority and the Blood Tribe Department of Health are poised to create a model of

00:38:24.460 shelter that exemplifies excellence, empathy, and effectively addresses our homelessness

00:38:30.780 in the City of Lethbridge. Thank you.

00:38:36.780 We'll now invite Minister Nixon and Councillor Heavyhead to sign the memorandum.

00:38:44.200 So the way I like to do this, open it, no, no, then they get all upset, but it's just

00:39:07.440 to do, the pose, this is called posing for a picture, right?

00:39:11.520 Oh, come on. He's in a hurry to sign it.

00:39:29.520 You have a much nicer signature than mine.

00:39:42.520 Thank you.

00:39:46.520 I went to residential school.

00:39:59.520 All right, and we'll now move on to questions from the media. So we're going to start with

00:40:06.320 questions here in the room and then move on to the phone lines. Please state your name

00:40:10.320 and the outlet you're with, and we'll do one question, one follow-up. So first question, please.

00:40:19.840 Hi, Sarah with Global Lethbridge. I just wanted to ask, you know, if you could give us a sense,

00:40:25.760 minister nixon about the demand that we're seeing right now are we at capacity here and and how far

00:40:32.640 does this go in terms of meeting the the needs that we have in this community right now so i i

00:40:37.840 don't believe that the uh uh leftford shelter reached capacity yet this year i think it's been

00:40:44.000 close at times and certainly we know that we needed to expand emergency capacity in the city

00:40:48.960 leverage so that's part of why we're headed down this road i believe you know if i hope i got my

00:40:54.800 My number's right, and I'm looking at I know who will have them right.

00:40:58.600 This is going to expand by 125 beds plus 30, what they call stabilization beds, which operate in this facility.

00:41:06.500 The current number, I believe, is 75 emergency spaces.

00:41:09.600 Am I right?

00:41:10.060 So, yeah.

00:41:10.920 So, that, I mean, that's a pretty significant expansion as far as space.

00:41:15.720 From what we understand, this should go a long way to keeping us below capacity during high-capacity times.

00:41:21.980 We obviously will continue to monitor it, and we will adjust.

00:41:24.800 I mean, Lethbridge is a pretty major city, and it needs to have the same level of support

00:41:29.440 as we would see that we're doing in places like Calgary and Edmonton.

00:41:32.660 In Calgary and Edmonton, I'll just quickly refer to them, because they are obviously

00:41:36.440 where our largest homeless populations are.

00:41:38.360 There's been a lot of news on that, that no time have we broken capacity in those two

00:41:43.040 cities.

00:41:43.540 The city of Edmonton right now is 1,801 spaces, which is the most in their history.

00:41:48.840 They've been hovering anywhere between 80% and 93% capacity this year.

00:41:53.180 And Calgary, a little over 2,000 spaces, I believe, and they'd be about the same numbers,

00:41:58.700 usually hovering in the coldest days, a little bit above 90%.

00:42:01.660 I think what is most important, though, for this announcement is still a little bit different

00:42:06.020 than you would see with the work that we've done traditionally,

00:42:09.140 is, again, reaffirming that Indigenous-led process,

00:42:12.940 making sure that we're here in a supportive way to support the Blood Department of Health,

00:42:17.700 but to allow them to lead this process, to run the shelter in culturally appropriate ways,

00:42:22.680 to work with their people, and that we're here in a supportive way, not a leading way.

00:42:27.620 And I think that is a model that we are continuing and will continue to mimic elsewhere inside the province

00:42:33.900 because it's been so successful.

00:42:35.560 And I know Rob and James just referred to some of those numbers.

00:42:38.180 I mean, those recovery numbers and getting individuals to help is something that's very special here

00:42:42.740 and something that we're certainly going to be having conversations with our other shelter providers

00:42:46.680 about making sure that they take steps to be able to have similar results follow up nope okay hello

00:42:53.560 hi stephanie kostian with the left bridge herald so my question for you is uh there's been talk

00:43:00.400 that people have recognized that a lot of the uh individuals experiencing homelessness

00:43:05.880 are a younger generation and i was wondering if any of the provided finance would uh help or assist

00:43:14.160 with addictions or mental health so the you're correct we are seeing different demographics

00:43:21.520 inside the homeless population we're also seeing different drug circumstances over the last several

00:43:26.080 years different types of drugs drugs are certainly more deadly and significantly having an impact on

00:43:32.800 all of our cities and left bridge is no stranger to that my announcement today is not specifically

00:43:38.320 for addiction treatment having said that addiction treatment remains the highest priority

00:43:44.080 of the government we are continuing to invest in recovery beds thousands of them across the

00:43:50.320 province minister williams the minister of mental health and addiction has the lead on that but the

00:43:55.600 role of my department particularly when it comes to housing and homeless shelters is to build a

00:44:00.720 system that connects to that new recovery system and so what you see taking place here in the

00:44:04.800 shelter system particularly here but is being mimicked across the province

00:44:09.200 is building housing to keep people safe deal with emergency circumstances safe

00:44:13.200 and warm and deal with medical circumstances or

00:44:15.520 other things that may be happening immediately

00:44:17.360 but then building a system that connects into that recovery

00:44:20.640 process that minister williams and his team is building

00:44:23.360 and again to the statistics that robin james from the housing authority just

00:44:27.360 said the blood department of health is doing

00:44:29.920 that in a very significant way and it's because of

00:44:33.040 that connection here in the emergency shelter to long-term recovery that they're having such good

00:44:36.560 results and did you have a follow-up okay we'll now move over to uh callers online so operator

00:44:45.440 can you please put through the first caller madeline smith cbc hi there this question is

00:44:52.640 for minister nixon uh minister i have an email sent to government employees that indicates ace

00:44:58.640 commencement so the start of new benefit payments are being limited only to people

00:45:03.980 who are palliative deemed emergencies or in hospital and as of this week only

00:45:08.780 cases deemed high priority will be assessed for eligibility can you explain

00:45:12.740 this I don't know the email that you're referring to so I would we'll have

00:45:18.560 somebody reach out to you separate from that but to be clear we have changed each

00:45:23.060 payment dates in the recommendations that we received from the age community to move back to

00:45:29.540 the first of the month that is for the entire system i'm not aware of anything that would be

00:45:33.540 different as the specifics of your email i'd have to see it to be able to give you any context and

00:45:39.940 follow it yeah so uh this email was sent to government employees that deal with

00:45:47.860 AISH applications, from what I understand. It also says there's been a temporary reallocation

00:45:54.440 of resources where they've been asked to do file reviews. What is meant by that? Has the government

00:46:02.080 looked at reassessing AISH in any larger way at this point?

00:46:08.620 So again, speaking to an email that I don't see is not something I'll do because I won't be able

00:46:15.020 to answer it appropriately. But we do age file reviews and file reviews through the income

00:46:20.160 support system often. It's part of the process for managing the system. But again, there's no

00:46:26.720 intention of changing where we're headed with age for the main purposes, which is to continue to be

00:46:32.400 able to make sure to provide significant supports for the severely handicapped in our province.

00:46:37.300 We're proud to be the province with the highest age payments in this country. We're excited that

00:46:43.020 we were able to re-index those payments and continue to stand with the disabled community

00:46:48.260 to make sure that they can continue to have the money that they need to be able to live

00:46:52.640 happy and healthy lives in Alberta.

00:46:54.800 Okay, operator, can you please put through the next caller?

00:46:58.780 It is Zuzad, Radio Canada.

00:47:02.280 Hi, are you hearing me?

00:47:04.240 I can.

00:47:06.220 Okay, good.

00:47:07.060 So my first question is actually why a memorandum of understanding being signed today?

00:47:13.020 Like, when will the contract be finalized?

00:47:16.560 Well, it's done.

00:47:18.620 So to be clear, what we did was in 2023, we went to the Department of Health with the Blood Tribe

00:47:25.820 and challenged them and asked them to take this project on with us.

00:47:29.480 They bravely did.

00:47:31.000 And we went through that process since 2023.

00:47:33.540 It's been successful.

00:47:34.800 And so what we're doing is signing a long-term multi-year agreement to make clear that this is the model

00:47:39.520 that we're going to continue to use to operate this facility.

00:47:41.880 and so you watched it be signed, it's in agreement right now

00:47:45.600 and the Blood Department of Health are going to continue to do their important work

00:47:49.040 right here in the city of Lethbridge

00:47:50.060 and they're also about to get a significantly expanded operation

00:47:54.220 that will be able to make sure that they can do more of that work

00:47:57.140 in the years to come

00:47:58.660 And for your follow-up

00:48:00.020 Yes, will this extension require the shelter to be closed

00:48:08.260 And if yes, when will start, is there a plan in place so that people can have access to a shelter in the meantime?

00:48:20.240 No, this plan will not require the shelter to be closed.

00:48:24.200 We will continue to work with the Department of Health of the Blood Tribe to provide services during the upcoming renovation.

00:48:30.440 There will obviously have to be some coordination to make that happen, but people will continue to have a warm, safe place to come at this shelter.

00:48:36.660 Okay, and operator can you please put through the next caller.

00:48:41.260 Danielle, APTN.

00:48:44.460 Hi, the question is for Minister Nixon.

00:48:47.340 Danielle with APTN.

00:48:48.860 Following up on a

00:48:49.800 one of the causes of homelessness

00:48:52.460 is often drug addiction.

00:48:55.400 So given that you mentioned

00:48:56.980 you're building a system next to recovery,

00:48:59.880 are you offering wraparound services

00:49:02.640 and will that in the future

00:49:04.200 housing first as a strategy?

00:49:06.660 This shelter already offers wraparound services, and it's something that we're going to continue to do with all of our shelters.

00:49:12.680 It's something that we've built throughout our shelter system.

00:49:15.500 It's something that we are seeing with our new navigation center in Edmonton in a faster way.

00:49:21.140 And we're going to take some of the lessons that we've learned from that in Edmonton and expand that to our partners across the province,

00:49:26.840 where we can expedite some of those wraparound services for, I think, what have been some staggeringly positive results in the city of Edmonton.

00:49:34.120 But to be clear, already right here at the shelter is wraparound services.

00:49:38.420 And what that looks like is partnerships with Alberta Health Services, other health care providers, recovery programs, outreach programs, income supports from my department and other ways.

00:49:48.600 And those supports are going to continue going forward.

00:49:51.780 And I want to stress the Blood Tribe has done that in a significant way, very successfully, and that we continue to show other organizations how they've done that because of their results.

00:50:02.740 But we will continue to see wraparound services with our homeless population.

00:50:07.920 And for your follow-up?

00:50:11.360 No follow-up, thank you.

00:50:13.360 Okay, and with that, that ends our time for questions.

00:50:15.400 Awesome. Thanks, guys.

Western Standard - February 17, 2024

Furthering reconciliation through emergency shelter

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