Aboriginal Homelessness Advisory Board & Provincial Métis Housing Corporation Environmental Scan: Aboriginal Homelessness in Saskatchewan Off-Reserve and Outside Saskatoon and Regina March 2015 Acknowledgements As Saskatchewan’s first province-wide study on Aboriginal Homelessness Off-Reserve and outside the Cities of Saskatoon and Regina, we would like to express appreciation to all those who have made this project a success. First, we would like to thank all those people experiencing homelessness who shared their stories with the researchers. These are the people who shared personal accounts and community knowledge. Every piece of information was a valuable asset to the project. We are grateful for all the courage and conviction you have shown. Second, we are honoured to have many people who dedicated themselves to helping with the project. These are the front line workers and service providers who met and spoke with the researchers. The devotion to their communities and to eliminating challenges and homelessness is encouraging and inspiring. Without your help we would not have accomplished this task. Next, we would like to express our gratitude to all the advisors who helped advance this research process. These are the members of the communities and service providers who guided the progress of the project. Thank you for pointing us in the right direction. Lastly, we would like to thank the Aboriginal Homelessness Advisory Board for being the steering committee of this project. Your commitment to Saskatchewan and its Aboriginal people is awe-inspiring! Without your leadership and support this study would not have come to fruition. Once again, thank you, each and every one of you. Page | 2 Project Summary Background In September 2014, the Aboriginal Homelessness Advisory Board (AHAB) and the Provincial Métis Housing Corporation (PMHC) commissioned a project to better understand Aboriginal homelessness in Saskatchewan. The AHAB and PMHC partner as the Community Entity responsible for province-wide funding through the Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) (Non-Designated Aboriginal Homelessness funding stream). This funding is available to organizations in Saskatchewan who address Aboriginal homelessness Off-Reserve and outside the cities of Saskatoon and Regina. To help with planning and managing the funding stream, these two organizations felt that more evidence was needed on the provincial landscape of Aboriginal homelessness. Prairie Wild Consulting was contracted to collect data and write the report. Objective of the Project The objective of this project is to provide a better understanding of Aboriginal homelessness in Saskatchewan and identify the gaps in services for homeless individuals and their families. Specifically, the project aims to identify: What agencies, service organizations, and other resources exist; Where they are located; The types of resources for homelessness they provide; What data currently exists to help determine the size and make‐up of homeless populations; and Where gaps in programming exist. The Homelessness Partnering Strategy’s Saskatchewan Non-Designated Aboriginal Homelessness funding stream is one of only three such streams in Canada. Funding policy for Aboriginal Homelessness to date has remained fairly open. The findings of this report may help to further define promising practices for this funding stream. Methods Data collection methods for this project included: A background inventory and review of existing learnings (what has been done and said to date about this topic in other research); An online inventory of agencies providing programs and services to help with homelessness; and Community visits and interviews. Page | 3 Eleven communities across Saskatchewan and one in Manitoba (Flin Flon) were visited (Figure 1). The project team also talked to some service providers in Saskatoon and Regina about the wider provincial context for homelessness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with service providers, Elders, community members, and people experiencing homelessness. Semi-structured interviews were based around a series of pre-prepared topic questions. The interview template is provided in Appendix C. Conversations were allowed to flow naturally rather than following a set order of questions. Conversations focused around these topic areas: Communities Visited: City of Lloydminster Housing; City of North Battleford City of Yorkton Local Economics; City of Prince Albert City of Flin Flon, MB Job Market; City of Swift Current City of Saskatoon Existing Data and Data Sources (service providers (background data only); collection only) City of Regina (offices of Existing Service Provider Networks and Silver Sage Housing) Collaboration; Town of Fort Qu’Appelle Town of La Ronge Existing Services and Resources for the homeless Town of Creighton Northern Village of Sandy (supports and services, but also education and Bay training, opportunities to connect with culture); Northern Village of Buffalo Narrows Estimated numbers of homeless persons in the Northern Village of La communities; Loche Demographics of homeless community (age ranges, Communities contacted by phone: families or individuals, etc.); City of Meadow Lake Town of Kindersley Location of the homeless population - daily round of Town of Maple Creek activities; Northern Village of Beauval Mobility (local and regional); Black Lake First Nation Reserve Definition of Homelessness; and Causes of Homelessness. Homelessness Across the Regions of Saskatchewan To understand the picture of homelessness across the province, a regional approach was used to analyse existing knowledge, the results of the online inventory, and learnings from communities. Page | 4 This report includes a description of the picture of homelessness in each region, including services and supports available. For a detailed discussion of each region, see the individual region sections in the main body of this report. Summary of Province-Wide Findings Individuals spoken to*: Over the course of the project, the Unsheltered Homeless: 2 following themes were noticed: Emergency Sheltered: 7 Provisionally Accommodated: 1. Saskatchewan is filled with 11 hardworking service providers who are At Risk of Homelessness: 15 dedicated to the communities they Agencies spoken to: serve. 83 Service providers use partnerships, both *Determination of homeless typology based on formal and informal, to make the most of information provided by participants. what are often limited resources. “What’s the best thing? There are partnerships, people work together, there is a strong sense of community, [and a] respect for each other’s mandates.” “In terms of net-working, we check around, are flexible, see who has the skills to help.” 2. Definitions of homelessness can be a barrier to addressing real needs in communities. Across Saskatchewan, people expressed homelessness as a spectrum of situations that can change quickly. From people living in culverts, to people staying with friends and family (including those in overcrowded housing, or housing in poor condition) to people with varying degrees of housing instability or vulnerability – all are experiencing the adverse impacts of homelessness. The people we spoke to defined homelessness in a way that fits with the current Canadian definition of homelessness (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness 2012), which is as follows: Homelessness describes the situation of an individual or family without stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it. It is the result of systemic or societal barriers, a lack of affordable and appropriate housing, the individual/household’s financial, mental, cognitive, behavioural or physical challenges, and/or racism and discrimination. Most people do Page | 5 not choose to be homeless, and the experience is generally negative, unpleasant, stressful and distressing. Homelessness describes a range of housing and shelter circumstances, with people being without any shelter at one end, and being insecurely housed at the other. That is, homelessness encompasses a range of physical living situations, organized here in a typology that includes 1) Unsheltered, or absolutely homeless and living on the streets or in places not intended for human habitation; 2) Emergency Sheltered, including those staying in overnight shelters for people who are homeless, as well as shelters for those impacted by family violence; 3) Provisionally Accommodated, referring to those whose accommodation is temporary or lacks security of tenure, and finally, 4) At Risk of Homelessness, referring to people who are not homeless, but whose current economic and/or housing situation is precarious or does not meet public health and safety standards. It should be noted that for many people homelessness is not a static state but rather a fluid experience, where one’s shelter circumstances and options may shift and change quite dramatically and with frequency. “Another challenge is the definition of homelessness…People are homeless some days, then have a home for really cold days. So in some communities, even though there is lots of overcrowding, by some definitions, there is no homelessness.” “With homeless people…it’s hard to fit them within parameters…you need to be thinking outside the box”. “Yes there is homelessness, but no one is on the street.” “Couchsurfing or no residence is generally how we describe homelessness.” “There is no option to go somewhere else. So