Extra services needed from government to help fill vacant units: Advocate

A homelessness advocate is saying there’s nothing to smile about seeing many vacant government units across the province, but she’s still trying to find hope considering the circumstances.

Alysia Johnson, a volunteer with Rally Around Homelessness, has spent time helping at the City Hall encampment.

“As much as I want to give into that frustration, I think there is a lesson here that we can adapt and we can pivot,” Johnson said.

On Tuesday, the NDP released information from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation through a Freedom of Information request showing there were 3,164 social housing units that sat vacant across the province last year. There are 691 of 2,986 units currently sitting empty in Regina.

In an emailed statement, the Ministry of Social Services confirmed that 1,505 of those units that are vacant across the province are unavailable because they are under repair, require repair, or are not yet renter ready.

Johnson said getting a roof over people’s heads was just one part of the problem. There needs to be community support workers who offer extra services for people who are not ready to live independently yet.

On Tuesday, Social Services Minister Gene Makowsky said he had not gone to visit the encampment in front of City Hall after being advised not to by law enforcement, but he does have people from the ministry visiting the tent city twice a week.

Johnson said some people she has spoken to have had bad experiences with government that make them not want to seek help again.

Something Johnson and other volunteers have encouraged is a multi-service day when people can sign up for a bank account and a personal identification day when people can get the process started.

“The model has moved more to a call centre, and less to those person-to-person, face-to-face supports,” she said.

Makowsky said the province is trying to include more third-party supports to help people not ready to live independently yet. Johnson wants to know what efforts the provincial government has made and what plans are in place for people who need supportive housing.

“I guess I am glad to hear that there is work being done,” said Johnson. “It would be nice to know who is involved, what that looks like and how’s that going because from my vantage point it seems to be offloaded onto groups of volunteers right now.”

She said it would help if Makowsky came to the camp to hear concerns of what people are going through.

“I think it would go a long way to for him to meet some people and just get to know them as humans, and just check those assumptions at the door,” said Johnson.