City council approves $7.5M to open emergency shelter in west Edmonton

Edmonton city council has approved $7.5 million in funding to open a temporary emergency shelter in the city's west end as the demand for emergency housing continues to escalate. 

At budget hearings Wednesday, council voted unanimously in favour of funding the new Jasper Place Wellness Centre facility, in a former hotel at 155th Street and Stony Plain Road.

The 24/7 emergency shelter, to be operated in partnership with the Tallcree Tribal Government, will have 209 shelter spaces, including 150 congregate living spaces and 59 private rooms.

Funding is coming from the city's financial stabilization reserve. The shelter will open in about four weeks and operate for six months.

The added spaces are considered critical as the city tries to address a shortage in shelter capacity this winter. 

Council also gave unanimous approval to a motion from Mayor Amarjeet Sohi to request an emergency meeting with the province on the capacity issues. 

Homelessness in Edmonton has reached a crisis point due to declining temperatures, health and security concerns, he said.

The mayor said providing emergency and supportive housing is a provincial responsibility and immediate action is required.

"This is a crisis we are facing," Sohi said Wednesday. "It's about investing in people, it's about saving lives."

The province has committed to funding 450 new shelter spaces in Edmonton over the next two years, but only 300 are ready. 

More permanent spaces are needed to address the "critical need" in Edmonton but the city can't do it alone, Sohi said.

"I am hopeful that, by us stepping up, we will be able to convince the province that they need to step up as well, that this is their responsibility."

An estimated 2,750 Edmontonians are experiencing homelessness, and about 1,250 of them are sleeping in emergency shelters or outside.

Shelter capacity has been consistently above 95 per cent on cold nights, Sohi's motion said. About 400 people take shelter in transit stations daily.

Edmonton police have confirmed the deaths of at least six people living in encampments. 

Meanwhile, an outbreak of the bacterial infection shigella continues to spread through Edmonton's inner city, including in encampments. Some 180 people have been infected and more than 100 have been hospitalized.

'An urgent need'

The added capacity at the new west-end emergency shelter would bring the total of overnight shelter spaces in the city to 1,281.

"This project addresses an urgent need to support vulnerable Edmontonians this winter," city manager Andre Corbould said in a statement.

People using the shelter will receive meals and have access to health services, harm reduction services, and housing supports. 

"Tallcree Tribal Government is excited to invest in west Edmonton and work with Jasper Place Wellness Centre and the City of Edmonton in navigating historically systemic issues such as chronic homelessness that impact our communities so deeply," Tallcree Tribal Government Chief Rupert Meneen said in a statement.