Edmonton homeless support centre to become permanent as deaths in unhoused population rise

The Alberta government's navigation and support centre for people experiencing homelessness will become a permanent fixture in Edmonton as the number of deaths in the city's homeless population spikes.

Premier Danielle Smith, along with Social Service Minister Jason Nixon, Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis and Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee, touted the success of the targeted support project for homeless Edmontonians in a news conference on Tuesday and announced plans to open a centre in Calgary. 

Smith said homelessness has become a reality for too many Edmontonians, with encampments popping up all over the city. The rising cost of living — tied with an addiction crisis and decreased housing supply — have contributed to a major increase in encampments, she said.

"These are dangerous places, especially for women and people with disabilities," she said, adding some Albertans in encampments have died in fires or from drug overdoses, while others have been assaulted, robbed and exploited by gangs.

"No one should ever have to live like this."

Data provided to CBC News by Alberta Justice suggests the number of homeless people who die annually in Edmonton has increased dramatically over the past five years — from 37 in 2019 to 302 in 2023.

Boyle Street Community Services, which also tracks deaths in the homeless population, said it had been notified of 72 deaths in the first 78 days of 2024, and that the new approach to dealing with encampments had not decreased the volume of deaths being reported.

Smith said the grave number was the catalyst for the province's opening of a temporary navigation and support centre in January at Hope Mission's Karis Centre on 103rd Avenue and 107th Street.

"We knew that we had to do something," she said. "We just couldn't continue to see those numbers go up."

As Edmonton police tore down homeless encampments over the winter, the centre connected the city's most vulnerable with income support, shelter and housing options, identification, health care, mental health resources and addiction treatment.

In the two months since the provincially funded navigation and support centre opened, the results have exceeded expectations, according to Jason Nixon, Alberta's minister of seniors, community and social services.

He told reporters that more than 700 people have accessed the centre since mid-January, and roughly 550 people have been connected to shelter and housing programs, with 240 people being directed to housing programs and 315 people being connected to shelter spaces.

He said the province plans to keep it open.

"Alberta's government will not abandon the most vulnerable among us to die in tents," he said.