Community groups hold forum to address needs of people experiencing homelessness in downtown Regina
A group of advocates gathered on the steps of the Knox Metropolitan United Church in downtown Regina on Wednesday afternoon to discuss how to best serve unhoused people ahead of the cold winter months.
Cam Fraser doesn't need to look further than the front door of his church to witness the plight of those experiencing homelessness in Regina, several people have been living on the front steps and in the church yard.
“We’ve done what we can to try connect people with services but one of the realities is there just is not sufficient spaces or supports,” said Fraser, the minister at Knox Metropolitan United Church.
A single person on social assistance in Saskatchewan receives $575 a month for rent and utilities. They receive an additional $285 for food and other needs..
"We know that it’s not even half of what the poverty line is. So it’s not just a question of people living in poverty, it’s how deeply they’re living in poverty and how desperately they’re living in poverty,” said Peter Gilmer, an advocate with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry.
Raymonda Morin lives behind trash containers in a back alley. She lost her apartment because social assistance wasn’t enough.
"Eight hundred and fifty dollars a month. That’s not enough to pay my rent and all my bills and my food and my clothing. They need to do something about that. They need to change that,” she said.
Ironically, there is vacant government housing right across the alley from Raymonda’s mattress. Several people had been living there, but were kicked out and now live on the landings. There is evidence that some may be children.
Alyssa Marinos, who is a part of the Regina Downtown community support team, said she and her partner have connected with 40 to 50 people who are living on downtown streets.
It is quite alarming and it is only getting worse with some of the changes that have gone on with the income assistance program for the Ministry of Social Services and there is a lot of hidden homelessness,” said Marinos.
The minister of social services said she believes there is adequate help for those ready to receive it.
“Get them the help and supports they need. Sometimes they’re ready to accept those supports, sometimes they’re not ready to accept those supports. We need to give them time to decide that they are ready to come and get those supports,” said Minister of Social Services Lori Carr.
The government says it is always working to improve supports and connecting people to what they need.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.