People gathered for a conference in Saskatoon Wednesday to start a conversation on how to address homelessness and provide more affordable housing options for the Indigenous population.
"To me it means more than four walls and a roof over your head, it means having that connection to the land, having that connection to each other,” said keynote speaker Sidney Gill from the Aboriginal Friendship Centre in Calgary.
Gill spoke at the annual Innovative Approaches to Housing and Homelessness Conference. He told others about his experience living on the streets and serving 10 years in prison. Today, Gill has turned his life around and says it’s important to tackle the systemic issues of Indigenous homelessness.
“When we talk about interconnectedness, we’re all related so having that built into a house and having that culture piece in there is what really rounds out a home.”
Executive director of Saskatoon’s Housing Initiatives Partnership, Shaun Dyck, says this year’s conference brings a focus on training, financing options for affordable housing projects, and allows others to network to find better solutions. "It's really an opportunity for people to come together, talk, network, and build collaborative relationships because the only way we're going to address homelessness is if we work together."
Saskatoon’s Homelessness Action Plan was introduced in 2016. Dyck says the plan will focus on four key areas over the next five years. “Those areas are system coordination and collaboration, increasing the number of supports available for people to access housing and the support they need to remain housed, to find ways to prevent homelessness, and to increase the stock of supported and affordable housing in the city.”
Dyck says the number of case managers have been increased in Saskatoon. He also added that Saskatoon’s Housing First model, a program introduced by Saskatoon Crisis Intervention and funded by United Way, has made great progress in providing others with safe and affordable living options.
Dyck says the city has managed to house 808 people since it did a homeless count in 2015, but added that there are still roughly 450 people living collectively on Saskatoon city streets or in homeless shelters.
For now, people like Sidney Gill said getting Indigenous people off the streets and into affordable homes starts with reconciliation, along with recognizing and embracing Indigenous culture. “I know a house solves a lot of things, but so does culture solve a lot of things for men and women to realize who they are and to put away a lot of trauma that they have faced.”
Gill says affordable housing is a process that will take time, but something that is worth the effort if it means more people having a place to call home.
