The Lighthouse says it’s already feeling the effects of a drop in funding.
On Wednesday, the provincial government announced it will no longer fund Lighthouse Supported Living clients who are not registered as homeless with social services or who do not qualify under social services.
The Lighthouse’s executive director Don Windels said this means the majority of people using the facility’s stabilization unit will no longer be funded. The unit houses people under the influence of drugs or alcohol and aims to keep them out of police cells.
The downtown Saskatoon shelter and supported living facility is now forced to turn people away – something it has never had to do before.
“Last night, the cells were full, and (the) brief detox unit was full, and, I guess, the rest had to fend for themselves,” Windels said, referring to 20 people The Lighthouse turned away Wednesday night.
“Hopefully we can have something resolved before it gets too cold, because intoxicated people and freezing weather don’t go well together.”
More than 440 people have stayed at the shelter since January, and 75 to 80 per cent of those people are not funded, according to The Lighthouse.
