City of Regina works with North Central Family Centre on rapid housing project
Summer weather has brought an increase in the number of people living on the streets of Regina. Tents have been popping up near the downtown as agencies search for housing.
Derek and Chrissy have been living in Regina for over a decade. They have fallen on hard times and are living on the street.
“I’ve been beaten up on the street twice. I can’t get into the shelter. I can’t find a home,” Chrissy told CTV News.
“We got robbed five times already and, you know, they take everything,” Derek said.
They are part of a growing number of people with nowhere to live. Tents are popping up in several places in the Heritage Neighbourhood. Shylo Stevenson, director of The Comeback Society, says the situation is becoming more visible.
(Wayne Mantyka / CTV News)
“There are supports and services in place but one of the biggest barriers that our relatives on the street face is obtaining identification and so with ID, the lack of support to get ID is one of the biggest barriers for them to get into supportive living,” he explained.
A rendering of the new rapid housing complex. (Wayne Mantyka / CTV News)
There is temporary help at shelters and the city is working on another rapid housing project. It has partnered with the federal government and the North Central Family Centre to build a complex at 5th Avenue and Angus Street.
Kim Wenger, executive director of the North Central Family Centre, said the complex would have programming and support services.
“We’ll be moving our housing and outreach team over there, along with our youth employment program but we’ll also be looking to partner with various organizations throughout the city who are doing great work as well to offer cultural programming, supportive programming, or counselling.”
Social Services provides emergency housing but many end up back on the street. Until more supportive housing comes online, the situation continues.
The project is anticipated to be completed in late 2024, according to the city.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.