Calgary homeless outreach organizations worry about winter months with lack of funding

Multiple local organizations and outreach groups say they're worried about their ability to help unhoused Calgarians this winter as they struggle to access their usual funding and resources.

Parachutes for Pets, Harvest Hills Cares and Be The Change YYC all say they're scrambling for solutions before the extreme cold hits.

"We, at this point, have lost pretty much all the funding that we could count on in years past," said Melissa David, founder of Parachutes for Pets, which provides subsidized pet care for vulnerable Calgarians.

David says her organization was denied funding this year from the extreme weather response program — funded by the city and co-ordinated by the Calgary Homeless Foundation — and from the city's community safety investment framework.

In the winter months, much of that funding goes toward the Parachutes for Pets' warming space for people and their pets, she says.

"Our cold weather response is probably going to be the most affected this year, which is really scary…. We just know that those pets won't survive those temperatures when we get into the minus-40s," said David.

Her organization isn't the only one struggling with funding cuts. Several groups have posted their concerns to social media lately, including Jennifer Rapuano-Kremenik with the non-profit organization Harvest Hills Cares Calgary.

Rapuano-Kremenik told CBC News she's no longer able to access funding or supplies from the Calgary Food Bank's mobile hamper program, which included items from food to blankets to frostbite kits.

"We would use these items to help keep individuals alive during the winter. Without that, we are left scrambling to start stockpiling and start sourcing donations from other individuals … to help people survive this winter."

The group Be The Change YYC raises the same concern.

All organizations are asking Calgarians to consider donating to their causes so they can continue serving the city's less fortunate.

Reallocation of funds

A spokesperson from the City of Calgary confirmed it declined funding requests from Parachutes for Pets and Be The Change YYC under the community safety investment framework this year. Twenty-seven other applications were also denied.

However, the city says it did not cut any funding for the extreme weather response program. In 2022, it approved $2.8 million over four years for the program.

The Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF), which co-ordinates the program, says it's committed to ensuring the program becomes more effective each year.

That work includes continuing to strategically allocate resources "where they will have the greatest impact for the largest number of people," according to a statement from a CHF spokesperson.

"CHF recognizes there's incredible outreach work underway throughout the city with respect to meeting the needs of unhoused Calgarians during the winter months. CHF funds a portion of this work on behalf of the city, with decisions made on an annual basis about where we believe we can have the greatest impact," said Bo Masterson with the foundation.

Meanwhile, the Calgary Food Bank says it's also making strategic changes to partnerships as it faces rising demand. In a statement, CEO Melissa From says it has increased distribution to Alpha House, Woods Homes and the Salvation Army, while other partnerships have ended.

The changes come as more people rely on the organization than ever before.

From says the organization is still working with 12 partners who serve the unhoused population.

"We're committed to doing more with limited resources by prioritizing impactful partnerships that serve the houseless community holistically," said From.

Concerns about frostbite

Chaz Smith, CEO of Be The Change YYC, says the changes are disappointing. He's now focused on fundraising and building other partnerships, including one with SkipTheDepot.

But he says he worries about frostbite cases among the city's less fortunate this winter, with fewer organizations on the ground able to connect those affected with the resources they need, or provide care before frostbite damage becomes too severe.

"This will impact our ability to provide that care for frostbite because we're going to have to redirect some of our funds from purchasing medical supplies to instead purchasing other supplies," said Smith.

Dr. Eddy Lang, an emergency room doctor and emergency medicine professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine, says it isn't uncommon to treat unhoused patients for frostbite in the winter.

"This could definitely get much more worrisome over the winter months if their usual approaches to obtaining shelter and getting in from the cold are not as available to them as they usually are," said Lang.

He says ultimately, the long-term solution is to ensure Calgarians have access to stable housing.

But until then, he encourages Calgarians to donate to local organizations who serve people experiencing homelessness.