New shelter spaces open in northeast Edmonton as temperatures plummet
Alberta funds up to 100 emergency shelter spaces through Niginan Housing Ventures
Cala Hills gives a tour of what will be the future home for some of the vulnerable Edmontonians who need a temporary place to stay.
Some of the rooms, located near the former Sands Inn & Suites that is now known as Pimatisiwin, are reconverted work camp trailers, complete with their own individual beds, desks and wardrobes.
The trailers can house up to 47 people, said Hills, the Pimatisiwin site manager at Niginan Housing Ventures, an Indigenous-led charity serving Edmontonians who have been hardest to house.
It comes as the City of Edmonton works to tear down encampments in the inner city that police have deemed too high risk to remain standing.
"Right now, we're going to be taking some folks right from the encampments," she said. "Then we are also taking folks off of our waitlist."
The provincial government is providing $3 million in funding to Niginan Housing Ventures to operate up to 100 emergency shelter spaces in its Pimatisiwin location in northeast Edmonton.
It's also contributing $2.3 million to Enoch Cree Nation to operate up to 100 emergency shelter spaces at Maskokamik, located in the former Coliseum Inn.
According to a news release from the Government of Alberta, the new spaces will increase shelter options for unhoused Edmontonians as the city is hit with colder temperatures in the coming weeks.
Hills said Niginan accepts intakes from anywhere; there is, however, a waiting list.
"Once we have a spot available for them, they usually enter either the camp or the tavern first and they work with a housing worker and staff to be stabilized," she said, which can include finding mental health and income supports to getting proper identification.
"Then we put in the referral for supportive housing, so then once they're stabilized, they're able to move into supportive housing."
Niginan also offers about 42 units of its own permanent supportive housing at Ambrose Place, located in the inner city at 96th Street and 106th Avenue.
Arsan Buffin, who also works as Ambrose Place's site manager, said clients, mostly made up of Indigenous people, can stay as long as they would like.
"We've had people here since we've opened, the whole 10 years," he said.
"Some people only can stay here for six months because the options here aren't suitable for them in terms of where they're at in their journey, but generally people who stay here live here for the rest of their lives."
Niginan's housing model is empowering, Hills said, and different from traditional shelter spaces.
"Having their own individual space really allows for them to be comfortable and isolate if they want to, or engage more if they want to," Hills said.
The new shelters opened Monday, Hills said. Five people currently live there and more are expected to arrive in the coming days and weeks.
Johnathan Derocher is one of them. He's been sleeping rough for more than seven years, but has been staying in a room at the old hotel for about five months. It was his mother who brought him to Niginan.
He admits that he held some skepticism.
"I was like, 'this is not going to be any better than [being] out in the street," said Derocher.
"Then I saw a friend here and that changed my mind … and it's just been gravy ever since."
After spending time in various encampments, Derocher said he knows firsthand how challenging it can be to live out on the street. He's even lost a few of his friends due to colder temperatures in the winter.
"I used to be proud to be homeless, you know, that I can live out there, but it's not something to be proud of," he said.
Derocher said he is slowly getting used to his new home, adjusting to the structure and rules. He didn't quite like it at first, but said now he prefers it. He's hoping his family and friends still sleeping rough can get the help they need.
"This is the best decision I've made in seven years," he said.
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With files from Travis McEwan.