700 to 800 Edmontonians sleep out every night and the number has doubled over time.
Most people get into homelessness from the criminal justice system, the housing system, and hospital recovery. To help protect Albertans experiencing homelessness and family violence, the Alberta Government announced a short term investment of $21.5 million to ensure safe access to services like 24-7 emergency shelters and domestic violence supports during the pandemic.
This announcement was made at the opening of the Hope Mission at the Herb Jamieson Centre on November 17, 2021. The announcement originated from a request made by Mayor Amarjeet Sohi to Premier Jason Kenney to tackle homelessness in Edmonton during their November 3, first meeting since Sohi became Mayor of Edmonton.
The announcement also mentioned the creation of a task force to develop a homelessness action plan. The speakers levied lots of praise on Hope Mission and its Executive Director, Bruce Reith, for raising a huge chunk of the cost of their new centre from the community.
The climax of the day came in an unrelated question from straight shooting Calgary Sun’s Columnist, Rick Bell, who asked if Premier Kenney does reflect at 3AM in the morning about changes in his government as members of his UCP caucus call on his resignation. A straight shooting, a comfortable looking Premier Kenney immediately fired back with a lecture to the famous columnist on not just writing about UCP in fighting, but also writing about the new jobs that his government has created, including a planned $2.5-billion petrochemical plant creating about 4K jobs, jobs creating irrigation investment in Southern Alberta, and more, drawing a surprising applause from the audience. More…..
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