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Calgary’s centre will be modelled after a similar government-operated facility in Edmonton that opened in mid-January
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A new navigation and support centre intended to provide wraparound supports for Calgary’s homeless population is slated to open in early July.
Premier Danielle Smith and Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon announced Wednesday the future support centre will be housed at the Salvation Army — Centre of Hope in downtown Calgary, just off of 9th Avenue.
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Smith said the navigation and support centre will provide a “path to a better life” for Calgary’s homeless population, touting the many services and resources the facility’s clients will be able to access.
“We’ll staff the centre with people trained in health care, housing and shelter supports, and Indigenous supports,” she said. “Clients will receive proper medical care for their wounds and referrals for mental-health and addiction treatment.
“They’ll find the stability of secure living arrangements. They’ll get connections to financial and employment services, and they’ll get ID immediately so they can start accessing supports and make that easier.”
![Calgary Navigation and Support Centre](https://i0.wp.com/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/calgaryherald/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/20240605_Homeless_CalgaryJW012-copy.jpg?resize=1000%2C750&ssl=1)
Calgary’s centre will be modelled after a similar government-operated facility in Edmonton that opened in mid-January, in response to that city’s growing number of homeless encampments.
Like Calgary’s will eventually be, Edmonton’s site was designed to act as a one-stop reception centre, with a triage system to take in displaced residents who could access the facility via free shuttles. The centre’s mandate was to provide a central location where people who were evicted from illegal homeless encampments could go for resources and supports such as showers and food, health-care services and referrals.
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Nixon said the site proved an immediate success, and while it was originally intended as a pilot project, the government decided to make it permanent.
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He said Edmonton’s navigation centre has received more than 1,850 visitors since Jan. 17, has issued more than 1,245 pieces of identification and has referred more than 1,000 clients to shelter organizations, 97 per cent of whom remain in some form of supportive housing.
In addition, he said 800 people have received financial benefits through the site, through programs such as AISH, while 550 were connected to health services.
“We have an opportunity to truly be able to care for the most vulnerable in our community here in Calgary and across the province,” he said. “We also have an opportunity to be able to teach as an example to the rest of the country, and revolutionize how we care for the homeless (to) make sure they receive the services they need in the long term.”
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![Calgary Navigation and Support Centre](https://i0.wp.com/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/calgaryherald/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/20240605_Homeless_CalgaryJW010-copy.jpg?resize=1000%2C750&ssl=1)
The centre will be a landing site for Calgary’s various emergency responders, such as police, fire and paramedics who encounter homeless people on the streets who need access to supports.
The centre will be staffed 24-7 and will start with 10 overnight beds, a number Nixon said might increase in the future depending on need.
He added the province hasn’t set a budget for the facility, noting that it’s still to be determined how many staff are needed to appropriately manage the site. However, he noted funding for the facility will be drawn from his own ministry’s budget.
“We’re going to make sure it has the tools it needs,” he said. “I don’t want to outright limit what that looks like.”
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