Plan to end homelessness expected to cost city more than $15M annually

City councillors have made it a future goal to eliminate homelessness in Regina and on Wednesday they found out just how expensive reaching that objective could be.

The city has offered a housing first initiative, with the newest cost estimate at $15.4 million annually.

Coun. Dan LeBlanc is pushing to have the money added to next year’s civic budget.

“One of the reasons this came up, in my two years on council I’ve experienced in particular high school students will come to our budget deliberations and say you folks should really solve homelessness," LeBlanc said "We all pat them on the head and say we’d love to but we have no idea how much it would cost.”

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There are many struggles someone who is homeless faces every day in Regina.

Jason Lamb was part of last fall’s camp in Pepsi Park. Things haven’t changed much.

“There could be more help somewhere, you know what I mean. Landlords are so picky,” Lamb said.

There are several hundred houseless people in Regina, but they’ve become less visible since tents were removed from Camp Hope. Still, the situation remains apparent to those working in the Heritage neighbourhood who do what they can to help.

“Well we’ll come out if guys are in distress we’ll help them out as we can and then I just ended up getting a pile of socks and we’ll give them some socks if we see they need some and try to help clean-up where we can,” Scott Bennie, who is working at a construction site nearby said.

The Hampton Hub was packed Tuesday night as area residents discussed the homeless situation in their neighbourhood. They heard from Shylo Stevenson, who helped run Camp Hope.

“It’s kind of out of sight out of mind because we went from tents to a shelter that’s no longer in operation. No wrap around care, no 24 hour warming centre. We’re worse off than we were last year,” Stevenson said.

The immediate concern is where people will go once the winter comes. All Nations Hope, which operated a warm up facility during past winters is still searching for funding.

“We’re looking at what the building on 5th Avenue could offer to the people and what is the most desperate area of work that needs to happen there,” Margaret Kisikaw-Piyesis from All Nations Hope said.

City council will decide in December if it wants to spend $15 million annually to address houselessness. Supporters of the initiative argue that it could cost more than that in police and health services if action isn’t taken.