Saskatoon on track for record year for homeless encampments

The City of Saskatoon is calling on the province to step in and help with a growing housing crisis as the city experiences a record amount of homeless encampments.

City council voted unanimously Wednesday at its regular council meeting to send a letter to the Ministry of Social Services to address some of the many barriers to get proper housing for homeless people.

"We're getting a clearer and clearer understanding of 79 people, for example, who have been taken into police custody 10 times or more (each) in the last 12 months," Mayor Charlie Clark said, recalling a recent board of police commissioners meeting.

"This letter speaks to the dynamic of many people who wouldn't necessarily be in that complex needs situation but are in encampments and other places, but just are not able to get access to housing."

The recommendation from administration noted acquiring ID, transportation and getting access to social workers as the main barrier to getting people moved into adequate housing.

A report from the fire department shows homeless encampments are on the rise.

As of June 25, the fire department counted 290 encampments across the city. That number jumped to 452 as of Aug. 1 — which represent a nearly 56 per cent increase in just over a month.

In all of 2022, there were 512 encampments counted.

Data from the fire department breaks down where encampments have been located, and the costs to the fire department for wages, administrative costs and cleanup.

Of the 290 encampments noted by June 25, 42 of them were found in Pleasant Hill — which is 15 more than the next-highest neigbourhood Confederation Urban Centre, which is where the Saskatoon Tribal Council's Wellness Centre is located.

"We need them to go somewhere but it all can't end in Pleasant Hill," Adam Pollack, the president of the Pleasant Hill Community Association, said.

"We've been dealing with these issues for a long time. However, these issues seem to be growing exponentially in our neighborhood."

Since November 2021, addressing inadequate housing has cost the fire department more than $442,000.

In that same time span, the report says "40 per cent of known individuals to SFD have taken supports and have been successfully rehoused."

"In 2023, there is a notable increase of individuals identified as inadequately housed that are new to the fire Inspectors"

The city continues to hear complaints about the province's change to the social income support (SIS) program.

"There continue to be unresolved challenges in this work," Coun. Hilary Gough said. "We continue to need changes to the Saskatchewan Income Support program."

The program was introduced in 2019 and replaced the Saskatchewan Assistance Program, or SAP, and the Transitional Employment Allowance, or TEA, in 2021.

One of the main changes brought on by SIS was giving cash to recipients directly instead of directly paying landlords and utilities.

"Resoundingly, in our community and across the province, folks working in this sector recognize those policy changes continue to contribute to evictions and homelessness and continue to present structural barriers to rehousing," Gough said.

That's why Pollock wants the province to step in and address the boarded up or vacant homes in his neighbourhood, along with trends of homeless people experiencing barriers on the path to housing.

"When there are all these people who don't have homes, it's hard to understand why the homes that we do have that are empty are not being utilized," Pollock said.

Council voted to use the new information available to write its letter to the province.