Regina YWCA happy to win support from province for new emergency shelter

As winter moved into the Queen City to stay on Tuesday, the provincial government announced the two organizations that will be supported to open emergency shelters in Saskatoon and Regina.

The Mustard Seed will open at least one shelter in Saskatoon, while YWCA Regina will open a new emergency shelter in Regina.

“As the only emergency shelter specifically for women and children, we turn away more women than we can serve. We are constantly full, and so I think the need is great there,” said Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen, the CEO of YWCA Regina.

The shelter in Regina will feature 20 beds for women and children. That will add to the 40 spaces the charity already operates under My Aunt’s Place.

“This will allow us to have space for emergency shelter beds for women who are in active drug use, as well as having emergency shelter beds for women who are not and/or have children,” Coomber-Bendtsen explained.

The YWCA doesn’t have a location selected yet, but Coomber-Bendtsen said it’s looking to have the shelter open in the next couple of weeks.

“We’re thinking that we’ll be moving into a temporary space first and then finding a more long-term space after that,” she said.

A permanent space might need renovations or rezoning, which can take longer.

The new beds will be a low-barrier shelter, which means intoxicated people or those in active addiction will be able to use them.

Coomber-Bendtsen said that will allow the YWCA to have two separate spaces – one that’s low barrier and the other which has more some rules in place because there will be children there.

The need is great for a shelter, but Coomber-Bendtsen said there’s also a need to better understand the situations around people who are homeless, whether it’s addictions issues or they’re fleeing abuse or an affordability issue.

She said those needs are different, so the sheltering of those people has to be different.

“What we’re really excited about with these new shelter beds is it’ll allow us to match the needs of the people that we’re serving currently in a better way with the kind of shelter that they need,” she said.

The provincial government wouldn’t say how much money either group is getting for their shelters, saying the contracts are still being worked out.

This is part of the Provincial Approach to Homelessness, which includes $40.2 million over the next two years for 155 new supportive housing spaces, 120 new permanent emergency shelter spaces, and 30 new complex-needs emergency shelter spaces, among other things.

The Ministry of Social Services did say spaces in both Regina and Saskatoon will be permanent and that the provincial support of the emergency shelter run by Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services in Regina won’t be affected.