‘Not making headway’: STC chief says shelters need more funding

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STC Tribal Chief Mark Arcand weighed in on the homelessness crisis in Saskatoon, as well as what STC is doing to help.

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Saskatoon Tribal Council’s Chief Mark Arcand says a real and honest conversation about what addressing homelessness will cost needs to happen.

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Arcand said governments will often say they can’t afford the services needed to address homelessness, but partially-funded shelters can lead to negative situations for the vulnerable people they serve.

“We have to afford that. Because if people are dying because we kicked them out during the day, or at night shelters are full, then we’re not meeting the needs of people,” Arcand said.

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“We’re not making headway,” he added, pointing to issues around inflation and barriers seen in Saskatchewan’s income assistance programs as some of the causes why Saskatoon is seeing so many people facing homelessness.

Many of the people who come to the Emergency Wellness Centre (EWC) are facing mental health and addictions issues, but Arcand noted they are also seeing elderly people that are living on a fixed income.

“They can’t make rent, they can’t make the cost of buying food, because that cost has gone up.”

The 2024 point in time homeless count in Saskatoon found 1,499 people in the city facing homelessness. This number has skyrocketed from the last count, which saw 550 people facing homelessness in 2022.

From April 2024 to the end of November 2024, STC’s data showed they housed 49 families.

Arcand said the majority of those families end up at Kotawan (formerly known as the Monarch Yards), a 55-unit facility with programs and services that people have to take while living there.

“We have security on site, we have all the programs on mental health, addictions, if they need employment, education, etc.”

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So far, he says they’ve helped 118 individuals who have moved on to regular housing and found success.

Outside of that program, the STC also receives federal funding through other programs to help move families into hotel rooms.

“For us, its a success story about how we’re doing things. We look at our Emergency Wellness Centre, all the wraparound services, and what’s going on there.”

Arcand also spoke about the Īkwēskīcik iskwēwak program, which he described as a halfway house for women coming out of Pine Grove Women’s Correctional Centre. The program can house up to 18 women.

“That’s another pilot project where wraparound services are included… we see success in that program as well.”

While much of the work STC does revolves around mental health and addictions, Arcand also highlighted programs aimed at helping teens with school.

The Pathways to Education program is aimed at students in Grades 9-12, offering after-school tutoring and mentorship with the goal of improving Indigenous graduation rates.

“We have (about) 350 students right now from different high schools around the province taking tutoring classes to help them graduate.”

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Arcand spoke about how important low-barrier programs like that are, saying this helps prevent people from falling through the cracks and potentially needing services like the EWC down the road.

Arcand knows not everybody is happy with the way STC runs its programs and services; he knows there is a vocal contingent calling for the EWC to be moved or shut down. But he says STC’s only goal is to help people.

“I think we have to look at the humanity side here. It’s a growing problem in Saskatoon, it’s not a neighbourhood problem.”

Arcand said more shelters are needed throughout Saskatoon: If the EWC houses about 106 people, the Salvation Army holds around 80, and the remaining warmup shelters hold roughly 150, that’s not nearly enough beds.

“Where’s the other 1,000 people? The last couple days, it’s been cold, and we’re not even into January and February yet.”

More proactive measures are needed in Saskatoon, Arcand said, adding that someone needs to find a way to lower the point in time homelessness number.

Arcand said the service providers can’t be blamed for these issues, noting that funding doesn’t reflect the need seen in the community.

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“You can’t just put people in a warmup shelter if you don’t have the wraparound services for them.”

“We have social assistance coming to our building, we have paramedics coming to our building, we have pharmacies that are dropping off medication to our building, we take kids to school,” Arcand added.

He said when it comes to discussions about more funding, whether it be from the federal or provincial governments, all he can do is ask.

“When you ask and you don’t get funded, what can you do?”

He said temporary warmup shelters that only run during the evening don’t solve the problem either because the weather is still cold during the day, which is why you often see people walking around wrapped in blankets.

Not having the proper funding and only partially offering services affects the community, Arcand said, noting that police, fire and paramedics end up getting more calls: Which taxpayers end up paying for anyways.

“This is a provincewide problem and a Canada problem of homelessness.”

Looking into the new year, Arcand said planning for shelters next winter needs to happen right in January.

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He appreciated the work the Emergency Management Organization has done to plan for this winter, but Arcand said with the increased number of homeless people wandering the streets, they need to be ready by October.

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