Emergency shelter opens for Regina tent community

REGINA -

An emergency shelter for residents of Camp Hope is set to open for operations on Monday.

The City of Regina announced Friday an indoor space had been found to temporarily house the residents of Camp Hope, who have been living in tents in the Core Community Park for more than a month.

The shelter will be operated by the Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services (RTSIS) and will provide 40 beds for current camp residents and any others who need shelter.

Erica Beaudin, the executive director of RTSIS, said she was pleased with the partnerships and relationships built between the city, social services and other community stakeholders to find a temporary solution to this issue.

“This is the first time that we feel that an incredible community response is coming together to address one of these most terrible situations such as life or death,” Beaudin said Friday.

“When you’re dealing with the types of homelessness or houselessness, when you’re dealing with the types of incredible, very serious drug use and abuse; the food insecurity, this requires all of our efforts.”

On Monday, those still staying at the camp were forced to pack up their belongings.

The city had an injunction saying all materials would be removed, so residents were given the option to access other resources like the new facility or existing shelters.

“We have a few residents that really are digging their feet in and want to stay unfortunately we're not going to be able to do that the city does have an injunction here so we are doing everything we can to get everybody to help the need and place to go,” Amanda Crowe, the Indigenous Health coordinator at the College of Medicine and the SHA said.

Crowe said some people will choose to stay on the streets rather than going into housing because of past traumatic experiences.

The city said it secured the building under a lease agreement with a third-party private owner.

The shelter was described as a short term option, with a long term goal of finding housing for the people who need it. Beaudin said RTSIS is planning to operate the shelter for six months, to get people out of the cold during the winter months.

Beaudin said the shelter will be located on Hamilton Street, but asked that the exact address not be shared by the media.

The project is being paid for jointly by the City of Regina and the Government of Saskatchewan. Masters said the city is funding the building lease and the province is providing operational funding for RTSIS.

Beaudin said RTSIS would announce how members of community can support the emergency shelter in the coming weeks.

In a separate news release Friday, the Government of Saskatchewan announced changes to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program. The province said the Ministry of Social Services is increasing support for clients with complex challenges who are at risk of homeless.