Keeping Alberta's homeless shelters safe and secure
Minister Irfan Sabir meets with residents
Community and Social Services Minister Irfan Sabir meets with residents of the Calgary Dream Centre.
More than 5,000 Albertans do not have a permanent place to call home and of those nearly half turn to emergency shelters for a safe place to spend the night. The province is working with its community partners to support these Albertans and ensure they have safe places to stay. As part of this commitment, 17 homeless shelters have received a total of $1.2 million to complete capital maintenance and upgrades.
“All Albertans deserve a safe place to call home and receive the supports they need to address the challenges they are facing. The issues facing Albertans are multifaceted and this funding will provide those in need with a safe, secure place to rest, eat and focus on getting back on their feet.”-Irfan Sabir, Minister of Community and Social Services
The funding will help ensure homeless shelters in Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Lloydminster and Red Deer continue to be safe, secure and healthy places for Albertans to stay when they have nowhere else to go.
The majority of the money will be used for routine maintenance and security upgrades, such as security lighting, roof repair and flooring replacements.
“The Calgary Drop In & Rehab Centre Society is extremely grateful to the Alberta government for their continued support. The funding provided by the province allowed us to enhance the safety and security of our facility. These enhancements protect both our clients and our staff members.”
Debbie Newman, executive director, Calgary Drop In & Rehab Centre Society
The Alberta government directly funds emergency shelters and women's shelters and partners with seven community-based organizations in Alberta's seven major cities to fund and implement provincial and local homelessness plans.
This $1.2 million is in addition to the over $43 million allocated annually to support nearly 3,300 emergency shelter spaces in 26 adult emergency shelters.
