City Council approves Homelessness Action Initiative for Prince Albert

Press Release

November 08, 2021

Prince Albert City Council has approved an action initiative to reduce homelessness in Prince Albert, following consideration of a report at the Monday, November 8, 2021 City Council meeting. The initiative will engage stakeholders across different jurisdictions in Prince Albert to develop sector specific solutions to homelessness. Partners in the areas of housing, mental health, addictions, policing, corrections, courts and municipal, business and investment, Indigenous and provincial governments will be engaged to consider causes, effects and actionable solutions that can reduce  homelessness and mitigate the impacts of homelessness on individuals and the broader community.

A more visible homelessness population in Prince Albert in recent years, has prompted ongoing inquiries to the City of Prince Albert from all sides of the homelessness issue with many looking to the City for solutions.

“The homeless situation has always existed, but it’s escalating to a crisis and we’ve all been witness to it as we see more and more people sleeping on the streets,” said Mayor Greg Dionne. “It’s an issue that has landed on our doorstep and we are at the point where we have to take an assertive role on behalf of our residents and business owners.”

The report outlines the approach multiple partners in our community will take to implement this initiative. Supporting the collective will be Dr. Chad Nilson, from Living Skies Centre for Social Inquiry who will lead, support, and report on the implementation of Prince Albert’s Homelessness Action Initiative. Dr. Nilson is based in Prince Albert and has extensive experience in supporting communities to collaborate around solving complicated community problems with sustainable solutions.

The proposed scope of work includes a four phased approach:

1.   Initial Outreach and Engagement with Stakeholders
Inputs will guide the engagement and knowledge sharing process.

2.   Collection of Data from key Stakeholders
Results, analyzed by sector, will help carve out more specific lines of inquiry and action planning.

3.   Mobilizing Stakeholders
Problems will be identified and sector-specific solutions that are both tangible and actionable will be developed.

4.   Reporting on Action Items
A reporting process will highlight action items and recommendations based on research, policy and practitioner experiences in homelessness reduction.

“Prince Albert has so many engaged and motivated agencies working in these areas. This initiative will bring them further together in a focused, data driven, action-oriented process,” said Nilson. “Part of the effort will be mobilizing groups throughout the process to take action on some of the achievable fixes that can have an immediate, meaningful impact. This is not about putting together a report that sits on the shelf. This is about working across our diverse business, cultural, social and government sectors to pull up our sleeves and make a measurable difference.”

As part of the initiative, a launch will be held in December to introduce the project to stakeholders and outline the goals and timelines.

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Mayor Greg Dionne

(306) 953-4300
Dr. Chad Nilson
Living Skies Centre for Social Inquiry
(306) 953-8384

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