Alberta non-profit Mustard Seed to run Saskatoon's Lighthouse

Saskatoon’s newest shelter operator is stepping in to run the Lighthouse Supported Living.

This, according to an update on the Mustard Seed’s website on Wednesday.

The Alberta-based Christian non-profit said it’s teaming up with the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation and the Saskatoon Housing Authority to run supportive housing services out of the Lighthouse, the city’s embattled former emergency shelter that was purchased by the province after being put into receivership following years of financial mismanagement.

“Mustard Seed Housing Saskatoon is a permanent supportive housing building offering residents stable, safe, affordable housing with wrap-around supports,” the non-profit said in a statement on its website.

“Supportive housing helps residents maintain their housing, reducing the volume of homelessness and related issues in the city by creating a safer, vibrant community for all residents.”

Founded in 1984, the Mustard Seed currently operates in six Canadian cities — Saskatoon will make seven.

The move to take over supportive housing at the Lighthouse comes as a bit of a surprise. When the province stepped in to buy the property in December 2023, putting an end to years of internal struggle and pulling it out of receivership, then-social services Minister Gene Makowsky said he intended to flip it.

"We want to ensure all people who currently reside at that location continue to have access to services and supports that help maintain their connection to housing as we work with them to transition to alternate accommodations in the community,” Makowsky told CTV News at the time.

Now, handing the reins over to the Mustard Seed signals the province has found a partner it’s willing to make long-term plans with.

“The Mustard Seed has been serving our most vulnerable neighbours for over 40 years,” CEO James Gardiner said in a statement.

“We are excited to work with the Government of Saskatchewan to help meet the challenges of vulnerable people in Saskatoon and to strengthen the safety net that provides support for those in need.”

Internal struggles

The Lighthouse Supported Living Inc. came under the full control of a court-appointed receiver following an application from Affinity Credit Union in April 2023. Accounting firm MNP was given expanded powers to sell off any and all Lighthouse property to pay off its debts.

According to court documents, Affinity was able to piece together the Lighthouse's finances using a few financial statements between 2020 and 2022, though plenty of detailed financial statements remained unaccounted for.

The statements showed the Lighthouse had more than $1 million cash at the end of 2020 and $807,000 at the end of March 2022.

By July 2022, a little more than $353,000 in cash remained, as the province pulled funding and donations dried up when internal struggles at the Lighthouse were made public that summer.

The first domino fell when a court-ordered investigation from MNP came to light, revealing that Lighthouse director Don Windels had essentially used shelter funds for personal loans.

The findings sat under a publication ban while a consortium of local media fought to have it overturned. In June 2022, the appeal court lifted the ban.

-With files from Josh Lynn