Province, city provide last-minute funding to keep doors open at Regina emergency shelter

Regina's The Gathering Place: New Beginnings emergency shelter will remain open past Sept. 30 thanks to a last-minute funding agreement between the city and province.

However, no one seems to know exactly how long that money will last.

"I would like to say until people find permanent solutions for housing, that's what I'd like to say," said Dr. Ankit Kapur, a physician and director of The Nest Health Centre, which houses the shelter in the former YMCA building in downtown Regina.

The Gathering Place: New Beginnings temporary shelter first opened at the end of January and quickly expanded from 40 to 55 beds. The City of Regina initially invested $500,000 and the province provided $1 million to fund the 24-hour shelter until Sept. 30.

Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services (RT/SIS) was tasked with operating the shelter. 

Monday's announcement that the two governments would continue to fund the centre was welcomed by staff, but they only know the funding will last past Sept. 30.

"Beyond that, the technicalities of it are still being negotiated," Kapur said.

Natasha Kennedy, a case manager at The Gathering Place, said the shelter provides "wraparound" services to people staying there, including health care, addictions and mental health support.

"We're seeing a whole influx of people who are experiencing homelessness that we potentially wouldn't normally see," Kennedy said. 

"Having a facility like the facility we have allows for us to really take in those clients and support them to a place where they're ready to reintegrate into society," she said.

The long-range plan, Kennedy said, is to transition to a permanent facility. However, she isn't able to let people know how much longer the centre will operate in its current location.