WE Winter/Spring 2016

MAGAZINE OF UNITED WAY OF THE ALBERTA CAPITAL REGION • WINTER/SPRING • 2016

Culturally based program offers help to aboriginal people experiencing homelessness

Warm Welcome Making refugees feel at home in our community

Shelter Solutions

Safe housing and tolerance are priorities for LGBTQ youth

Plus: PM#40020055

Financial literacy course makes property ownership a reality for many Albertans

THIS ISSUE ISSUE OF OF WE WE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE IS IS GENEROUSLY GENEROUSLY SPONSORED SPONSORED BY

BY EPCOR THIS

It’s hard to imagine enduring our winter months without the appropriate clothing. For many people living in poverty in our community, that’s the cold, harsh reality.

Because of your incredible generosity, nearly 5,800 adults and children in the Alberta Capital Region were able to stay warm this winter.

Thank you for donating to Coats for Kids & Families, and for ensuring no one is left out in the cold.

2015 PRESENTING PARTNERS

WINTER/SPRING • 2016 SPOTLIGHT The Housing Issue 10 SEEKING SAFE SHELTER Too many LGBTQ youth are ending up on the streets, but organizations like SAFQ EY are stepping in to help

14 HOUSE SMARTS 24

Making home ownership a reality for low income residents

DEPARTMENTS

▲ ON THE COVER: George Belcourt, pictured with his wife Darilyn.

PHOTO: Darryl Propp

4 MESSAGE FROM UNITED WAY

18 HOME TO STAY The Community Bridge program helps people who are at risk of eviction

5 COMMUNITY CHAMPION

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Bissell Centre volunteer Agathe Joly gives free haircuts to those in need

22 PORTRAIT OF HOMELESSNESS Edmonton’s homeless by the numbers

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24 CULTURAL CONNECTION Offering Edmonton’s aboriginal homeless population healing and hope through culturally based programs

6 THIS WAY IN United Way initiatives including DKNY Night of Fashion and Wild Wagons Showdown

30 BETTER TOGETHER 18

The 20,000 Homes campaign is a national effort to address homelessness

9 TRUTH BE TOLD 34 A SAFE REFUGE

Dispelling myths about housing and homelessness

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Housing shortages are only one of many issues facing immigrants and refugees

40 BUSINESS WAY PCL employees offer a helping hand to the homeless

41 LEADING EDGE CMHA Edmonton Region and The Support Network join forces

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SPONSOR PROFILES 29 LIFTING UP A COMMUNITY EPCOR celebrates 125 years of working with local service organizations to help those in need

38 A PLACE TO CALL HOME 42 MILESTONES Celebrating 10 years of the Engineering Challenge

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Brookfield Residential thinks all Albertans should have safe shelter

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O UR WAY

WINTER/SPRING 2016 VOL 5 • No. 1 Joanne Currie Director, Community Building & Investment, Financial Stability and Independence United Way of the Alberta Capital Region

Putting an End to Homelessness WITHOUT A PLACE TO CALL HOME, WITHOUT MONEY, or ID, participating in our community becomes a lot more challenging.

Some of us take it for granted that we can quite easily get from one place to another, call for help when we need it, show ID if it is required, find a bite to eat or a coffee when we crave it, and have a place to call home. When people do not have access to affordable, quality housing, they are often at greater risk of having health problems, getting involved in or being vulnerable to criminal activity, and are more vulnerable to mental illness and addictions.

We might think we know what homelessness looks like, but the truth is it doesn’t look like any one person or situation. Homelessness is an experience someone is having at a point in time. Some people may need to flee their home for safety; they may be staying on a family member or friend’s couch to get by for a time. Some cannot afford a home due to the high cost of rent, relative to their income.

Others may move here looking for work but not be able to find an affordable place to live.

I am proud of the work we do with our community partners in the area of housing and homelessness. It is a basic need that each of us deserves. As a community we need systems in place to support people in a wide range of situations, and provide housing alternatives to ensure that everyone has a safe place to live.

Thank you to Brookfield Residential and EPCOR for sponsoring this issue of WE magazine. This issue highlights some of the great work that has been happening in the areas of housing and homelessness in our community. I hope it will inspire others to continue to support individuals who are experiencing housing challenges and work to address the larger structural issues to finally put an end to homelessness.

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UNITED WAY OF THE ALBERTA CAPITAL REGION EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Nancy Critchley ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Angela Dorval, Mike Kluttig, David Odumade COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT: Cindy McDonald EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Joanne Currie, Myrna Khan, Sheilah Pittman, Anne Smith SPONSORSHIP AND CORPORATE SUPPORT COMMITTEE Nancy Critchley, Kevin Fitzgerald, Myrna Khan, Mike Kluttig, Stephane Hache VENTURE PUBLISHING INC. PUBLISHER: Ruth Kelly MANAGING EDITOR: Kim Tannas ART DIRECTOR: Charles Burke GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Andrew Wedman PRODUCTION MANAGER: Betty Feniak PRODUCTION TECHNICIANS: Brent Felzien, Brandon Hoover CIRCULATION: Karen Reilly CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Caroline Barlott, Sydnee Bryant, Lisa Catterall, Julie-Ann Cleyn, David DiCenzo, Martin Dover, Michelle Lindstrom, Erin McCarty, Omar Mouallem CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS: Raymond Bourque, Cooper & O’Hara, Jared Evans, Sharon Litchfield, Blake Loates, Evan Montgomery, Heff O’Reilley, Darryl Propp ABOUT UNITED WAY The mission of United Way of the Alberta Capital Region is to mobilize collective action to create pathways out of poverty.

WE is published for United Way of the Alberta Capital Region

by Venture Publishing Inc., 10259-105 Street Edmonton, AB T5J 1E3 Tel: 780-990-0839 Fax: 780-425-4921 Toll-free: 1-866-227-4276 circulation@venturepublishing.ca Printed in Canada by Mitchell Press WE is printed on Forest Stewardship Council ® certified paper Publications Agreement #40020055 ISSN 1925-8690 Contents copyright 2016.

Content may not be reprinted or reproduced without permission from United Way of the Alberta Capital Region.

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PHOTO: RAYMOND BOURQUE

COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS

The Kindest Cut Long-time Bissell Centre volunteer Agathe Joly gives back to the community one haircut at a time

by KIM TANNAS

FOR THE PAST 23 YEARS, AGATHE JOLY HAS BEEN

WE: What kind of people do you typically see coming in

giving free haircuts to people who couldn’t otherwise afford them. In that simple act, the 76-year-old sees those individuals transformed, not just in how they look but also in how they feel.

She leads a team of eight volunteers who give haircuts and do beard and moustache trims every Tuesday afternoon at the Bissell Centre. Together they do about 20 to 25 haircuts a week. Early on, she saw a need to help people in the inner city with their grooming in order to boost their confidence. Some might have a job interview the next day and want to look their best, while others are new to the city and can’t afford a barber or hair salon.

Many live on the streets and simply want to be cared for. We spoke to Joly about how it all began and what motivates her to give back.

for free haircuts?

WE: How did you get involved with this?

WE: How do people usually respond?

AJ: Twenty-some years ago the Sisters of Charity that

AJ: You know how we feel when we get our hair done. You

were working in the inner city started this up. The one that

feel like a new person. Well, they’re not any different. We

I hooked up with, she was working at the George Spady

show them the mirror, and one guy said to me one day, “Is

Centre – she had known that I cut hair and we were invited

that me?” It was such a transformation. It’s a big thing for

to cut hair at the Bissell Centre. Of course, there are no

them, to not have to pay for a haircut. Some of them can’t

sisters left to work with us now, but we are associates of

afford it. The guys on the street tell us they can’t get a hair-

the Sisters of Charity. We commit to continue their work, to

cut for less than $15. That’s a lot of money when you don’t

continue the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul who gave his life

have a job. So we do that voluntarily and we do it because,

for people living in poverty.

personally I need that in my life, to have a balance.

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AJ: We have people who really don’t have a permanent home. They have temporary places where they stay – sometimes with a relative, sometimes with a friend. And nothing is ever permanent for them. There are others who have had a small apartment for years. But a lot of them don’t really have a home to go to. They’re on the street.

WE: What makes you come back every week?

AJ: I find it very fulfilling. I, myself, had a very protected life.

I’m from a large family where there was a lot of love. And I find that this is what’s lacking in these people. Some of them come back week after week, and it’s just to be cared for a little bit while they’re there. And that’s our role. It’s just to be there – to smile and give them a haircut.

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by UNITED WAY STAFF

FASHION FORWARD ON NOVEMBER 9, 2015, DKNY EDMONTON HOSTED A NIGHT OF FASHION IN SUPPORT of United Way. The event took place at the Art Gallery of Alberta and was hosted by Edmonton’s First Lady and 2016 United Way campaign cabinet co-chair, Sarah Chan. The event was a great success, raising more than $20,000 for United Way of the Alberta Capital Region.

1. Guests enjoying themselves at the DKNY Night of Fashion in support of United Way

5. Performance by the Alberta Ballet

2. Stunning decor at the Art Gallery of Alberta

6. Lance Chung, managing director, DKNY Edmonton

3. Awaiting the arrival of guests at the Art Gallery of Alberta

7. DKNY fashion show

4. Myrna Khan, United Way; Ruth Kelly, 2015 United Way campaign chair; Tom Redl and Sarah Chan, 2016 United Way campaign cabinet co-chairs

1.

2.

5.

6.

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PHOTOS: SHARON LITCHFIELD AND BLAKE LOATES

4.

3.

7.

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WILD WAGONS SHOWDOWN: Community members attended a free family event at Fort Edmonton Park in November to thank everyone for their support of United Way.

SHOWDOWN IN THE WILD WEST MORE THAN 500 COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAME OUT to Fort Edmonton Park on Sunday, November 8, 2015, for the first-ever United Way Wild Wagons Showdown, a free event put on with the generous support of Edmonton Tourism, Northlands and Fort Edmonton Park.

Some of the highlights of the community-wide family event were horsedrawn wagon rides, a kids’ craft corner, and musical entertainment by The Carolines and Jack the Fiddler. But one of the biggest draws was cheering on local companies as they competed in human chuckwagon races – the

STRONG FINISH: PCL placed first in the human chuckwagon races.

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first known race of its kind in Alberta.

“The Wild Wagons Showdown is an opportunity to thank everyone in our community for their ongoing support of United Way and to help raise awareness about how poverty affects us all,” stated Mike Kluttig, vice-president of Community Engagement with United Way of the Alberta Capital Region.

“This event was also an opportunity to share the accomplishments of companies who support United Way and highlight the impact that we are having in our region.

United Way has a vision of a poverty-free community, but we know that the issue is not just about one organization, it’s a community-wide cause.”

Participating teams included ATB, Chandos, Edmonton International Airport, Edmonton and District Labour Council, Enbridge, Government of Alberta, Heartland, Northlands, PCL, and Stantec.

And the grand prize winner was PCL Construction.

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UNITED VOICES: The Top Ten contestants in the 2015 My United Way Voice contest performed at West Edmonton Mall on December 6, 2015.

VOICES AGAINST POVERTY ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2015, UNITED WAY IN partnership with Hot 107FM and PlanIt Sound, launched the 2nd edition of My United Voice, a Capital Region-wide contest to find the next voice against poverty. Building off the success of the inaugural year, United Way decided to bring back the contest and give more people an opportunity to share their voice against poverty.

Singers, rappers and spoken word artists were invited to

take a stand against poverty by uploading a YouTube video of their submission, for a chance to win a fully sponsored prize package valued at $10,000.

The top 10 contestants were chosen from almost 50 entries, and the winner selected by the public through an online vote at United Way’s Red Tie Gala on February 25, 2016. To learn more about the contest and to see the winner, visit www.myunitedwayvoice.ca.

THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS! DURING OUR CAMPAIGN SEASON, UNITED WAY RECEIVES requests from hundreds of organizations to hear first-hand how United Way is improving the lives of people in our community.

In 2015, 52 United Way Community Impact Speakers volunteered their time and public speaking skills, sharing personal stories about the needs and supports that exist in our community. These presentations inform and inspire people to support United Way in our collective action to end poverty in the Alberta Capital Region.

United Way would like to acknowledge the unique contribution, and significant impact made by our volunteer speakers, and thank them for their truly priceless gifts.

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DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL? Has a United Way funded partner agency had a positive impact on your life, or someone you know?

Are you a volunteer or staff member of an agency who can share your knowledge of the inspiring work happening in our community? Become a part of United Way’s volunteer Community Impact Speaker program, and you’ll receive free public speaking training, meet great people and inspire social change.

For more information please contact Tasha at 780-443-8380 or tmich@myunitedway.ca

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TRUTH BE TOLD

by MARTIN DOVER

Rethinking Homelessness Experts in the field shed some light on common misperceptions AS OF 2014, BY THE CITY’S last biennial Homeless Count, there were 2,307 homeless people recorded in Edmonton, nearly a fifth of those under the age of 18. Add to that the people who may be just a missed paycheque or one life event away from stable housing, or those who might be couch-surfing – staying with friends or family until they have to move on – and the numbers climb even higher.

In this issue of WE magazine, we sat down with Homeward Trust’s Giri Puligandla and Jarrod Bayne, who help shed some light on why people experience homelessness and what is being done to end the cycle in the Capital Region.

TRUTH #1. PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO BE HOMELESS. Aside from some rare exceptions, what we’ve found is that most people don’t want to be living out in a tent, especially in the winter months, says Giri Puligandla, director of planning and research at Homeward Trust.

The Housing First Support Program focuses on housing people first, rather than forcing them, at the outset, to deal with other issues that often go hand-in-hand with homelessness, such as addiction – which can be addressed far more effectively once a person has stable housing. Jarrod Bayne, Homeward Trust’s chief programs officer, agrees. “[Homelessness is] not usually a choice that they’re making,” he says.

“Usually it’s more like, ‘I don’t want

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anything to do with that program and the strings and the rules that come with getting housing.’ A lot of these folks [who become Housing First clients] have tried different programs five or 10 times and they haven’t been successful.”

The Housing First program has shown impressive results: since 2009, more than 5,000 people have found homes, with more than 80 per cent remaining successfully housed.

TRUTH #2. PEOPLE WHO ARE HOUSED THROUGH PROGRAMS DON’T GET A “FREE” HOME. The myth that people get a free home through housing programs revolves around two things, explains Bayne.

“First, the work to end homelessness is an intervention. It’s time-limited and a person is supported to resolve their homelessness and then they move on.

They are not a homeless person; they are a person that experienced homelessness for an amount of time.” Second is the cost portion. There are indeed resources invested in that person, he explains, “but it’s much, much more expensive to do nothing and to leave a person on the street to interact with police, ambulance, hospitals, shelters, food banks, and all the emergency services.”

In fact, each person who is chronically homeless costs the taxpayer around $100,000 on the streets, but $30,000 or less to house and support, says Hal Danchilla, chair of the Edmonton Homeless Commission.

TRUTH #3. PEOPLE WHO ARE SUCCESSFULLY HOUSED ARE OFTEN GOOD TENANTS. There is often a belief that people who are housed will not care for their homes and will let them fall into disrepair. In his experience, it is often the opposite, says Bayne. “We have to remember how new this approach is in this community.

The Housing First approach seems very straightforward: we’ll get you housing first and then we will work with you on some of the factors that have made or kept you homeless. The system we had before put people through a lot of steps; it’s no surprise that a lot of people weren’t successful with that.

A person has a voice now in where they live and what furniture they have in their apartment and that builds ownership and helps a person get connected to a home, and not a placement.”

Often big-name landlords will approach Homeward Trust because they realize the organization’s clients have more support to be good tenants. “When Housing First rolled out, back in 2009 with a 10-year plan to end homelessness, Boardwalk was one of the first companies to step up to the plate and offer access to units,” explains Puligandla. “[Clients] sign their lease. Support workers teach the client how to work with the neighbours, how to work with the landlord to resolve issues ... You just make sure that they have the support that they need and people will be successful.”

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SHIFTING ATTITUDES: Colette Chelle has faced homelessness and discrimination since coming out as transgender five years ago. Organizations like SAFQEY are working to change that.

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SAFE

The Housing Issue

Seeking Shelter With a disproportionate number of LGBTQ youth ending up on the streets, organizations are working to improve acceptance and tolerance

by OMAR MOUALLEM

Photography by DARRYL PROPP

S

IPPING PEPPERMINT TEA IN A CROWDED FAST FOOD restaurant on the city’s north side, Colette Chelle recounts the five harrowing years since coming out as a transgender female. She ignores those eyes and heads unable to turn away for longer than it takes to eat a french fry, and speaks bravely, sometimes brashly, about the forces impeding her physical transition and the so-called “cosmetic” treatments that feel far out of reach: laser hair removal, facial feminization, “top surgery.” The list (and bill) goes on.

“You have stupid things like this that cost $6,000 to get rid of,” says the 21-year-old, pinching her Adam’s apple, a body part that’s felt alien to her for as long as it has existed. “I don’t know how I’m going to pay for everything.”

For someone who’s been homeless on and off since age 17, paying rent is hard enough. Add systematic discrimination in age, employment, policy, housing – and not to mention one’s own family – and you get an idea of the mountainous challenges facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth living on the street. The challenges facing homeless shelters is

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no less steep; although LGBTQ people represent up to 10 cost Leibel childhood friends and family relations. Still, he considers per cent of the general population, they represent up to himself privileged; he came out as transgender during university, when 40 per cent of the youth homeless population, according he’d already established independence. “There were trans youth working to the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. Creating in the sex trade and addicted to meth. It was the protective factors in my safe spaces for them is imperative. life that separated me from them.” Leibel has since established the Society Their overrepresentation in the homeless youth for Safe Accommodations for Queer Edmonton Youth, or SAFQEY, an population is staggering and organization supporting LGBTQ youth contradictory of the last facing homelessness in a number of ways, More training about inclusive, decade’s civil rights progress. including working to establish Alberta’s non-judgmental practices are definitely But the queer revolution first LGBTQ specialized housing. It’s so has also caused ruptures in far raised $10,000 through corporate and needed for all our staff. homes, where one generation private charity and hopes to become the – Jeralee Konschuh, YESS program manager is increasingly expressive beneficiary of a six-bedroom home opening about its sexual orientation to primarily trans youth. This number will and gender identity, and the other hasn’t caught up. “I reach $35,000, once it officially receives $25,000 from Homeward Trust, didn’t even know what the word ‘trans’ was till I was as SAFQEY was its 2015/2016 “raising the roof ” fundraiser beneficiary.

18,” says Sam Leibel, a queer rights advocate and social “The next step of funding will be for [all ] LGBTQ,” says Leibel, who also worker. “Now they’re coming out at seven, nine, 11 years produced For Want of a Home, a feature documentary that’s available on old!” He adds, “We’re telling people it’s OK to be gay but YouTube. SAFQEY recently completed a five-year strategic plan. Leibel we’re not preparing people for the reality.” believes specialized services for LGBTQ people need to be offered on He should know. Identifying as a transgender male a spectrum, including but not limited to emergency beds, transitional

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are definitely needed for all our staff,” says YESS program manager Jeralee Konschuh, who also sits on the Alberta LGBTQ2S* Working Group. Chelle was the agency’s first openly transgender resident, says Konschuh. “It created a learning opportunity for staff, in terms of training and identity of youth.” YESS’s supervised dorms are now gender-neutral.

Both YESS and E4C have policies or practices to address homophobia amongst residents, and have hired people like Leibel for staff sensitivity training. As they retrofit their buildings and policies for the growing number of queer youth, they’re also supported by the National Learning Community on Youth Homelessness LGBTQ2S Toolkit.

Launched last spring, the website provides shelters with template processing forms, signage, educational leaflets, policy recommendations and training.

Speaking from experience, Chelle thinks the solution starts in removing the emphasis on gender – oftentimes the first question on process forms after one’s first and last name. “They’re in a service for homeless people, so they need to learn to deal with all types of people,” she says.

Chelle has had her own apartment for two years now, thanks in part to financial support from the McMan Youth Family and Youth Community Services Association, and hopes the next time she’s at a youth shelter will be as a sensitivity trainer. Now, with her geographical transition finally stabilizing, she’s able to focus more on her physical transition and is exploring ways to cover the costs of her operations that health care won’t.

The Housing Issue

housing and permanent housing options using a “Housing First” philosophy.

“We’ve done an awesome job at tackling adult homelessness in our community, but there’s still a lot of work to be done in the youth sector,” says Leibel. (For its part, the Alberta government emphasizes “family-first” – meaning family reunification.)

But with a homeless youth population pegged at 265 by the City of Edmonton (and double that, by stakeholder agencies), SAFQEY can’t tackle this alone. The current shelters are designed for the comfort of cisgender (those whose gender aligns with the one they were assigned at birth), heterosexual homeless, not the reality of human nature – which can be sexually fluid and ambiguous. Often organizations are intimidated by the “growing acronym” that represents the populace, says David French, manager of Alberta Human Services’ homeless supports initiative.

To uniformly tackle the complicated issue, in December 2014 the Province of Alberta formed Canada’s first ever governmental working group on queer youth homelessness.

“Traditionally, youth shelters are male and female,” says French, who co-chaired the working group during its developmental stages and remains a member. “There’s this understanding in the LGBTQ community that that’s how shelters operate. So they’re thinking, ‘I’m probably safer in my community with my street family than I am in a youth shelter.’ ” That is true of Chelle. She left her turbulent Medicine Hat home at 17, but found the local youth shelter’s workers insensitive to things cisgender people take for granted every day, like being called by their preferred pronouns and bunking with others of the same gender they identify with. Chelle felt safer on the streets, but had her eyes on Edmonton, where she arrived in May 2012, hoping to find acceptance and housing with a friend.

Overall, Chelle found a more liberal attitude in Edmonton but, two weeks after arriving, her roommate turned on her, physically assaulting and abandoning her in a field one night. She was homeless again, but in an unfamiliar city.

The shelters were unprepared for her. One operated

by Youth Empowerment and Support Services (YESS) was lacking gender-neutral dorms at the time. “I was on hormones at the time, so I was developing breasts,” says Chelle. “It was incredibly awkward.” Some months later, at E4C’s shelter, the Inner City Housing Project, she found safety in gender-neutral beds and washrooms but endured bullying from homophobic roommates.

“More training about inclusive, non-judgmental practices

*WHAT’S IN AN ACRONYM? While many will remember that up to a decade ago it was common to only use the first three letters – lesbian, gay, bisexual – today it’s not uncommon for organizations like SAFQEY to prefer LGBTQ2S, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit. For more information on these terms, visit lgbtqhealth.ca/community.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To find out more about SAFQEY’s fundraising efforts and to view the documentary For Want of a Home, visit www.gofundme.com/FundSAFQEY

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PROPERTY OWNERS: Greg and Emily Wolbeck (pictured here with their children, Brett and Miranda) purchased their first home with assistance from The Home Program.

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The Housing Issue

House Smarts Local program builds financial stability and a better future for people across the province

By LISA CATTERALL

Photography by EVAN MONTGOMERY

A

T AGE 22, EMILY WOLBECK WASN’T expecting to move into home ownership. As a recent university graduate, her sights were set on more modest goals: finding a job and beginning to pay down her student loans.

“My then-boyfriend (now my husband) and I had just put ourselves through university, so we thought we’d never be able to afford to buy a house,” she says. “I don’t even know if we had $500 between the two of us.”

It was a vulnerable time, she explains, and her level of

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debt felt insurmountable. “You’ve got this debt that you feel purchased their first home. “The Home Program helped us discover you’re going to be paying out for the rest of your lives. Home that home ownership was a possibility,” says Wolbeck. ownership wasn’t on our radar at the time. I didn’t think it Developed in Edmonton in 2001, The Home Program was initially was even remotely possible.” created as an educational program for first-time, low-income That all changed once she was introduced to The homebuyers. Now, thanks to assistance from groups like the Alberta Home Program. She discovered the course as part of Real Estate Foundation, The Home Program has grown into a full her job working with a local community group where support system for any buyer. her task was to educate others on finances and home “The important thing to note is that anyone can participate. ownership. The program seemed like it would be a Really, anyone can benefit from the course,” says Brian Finley, valuable resource for her program coordinator. “It’s free, and students but in order to it’s open to everyone. You don’t The Home Program is about communicate its true have to be a first-time homebuyer. getting people into the best possible value to them, she knew For all intents and purposes, we situation to reduce their debts she’d have to experience teach people how to manage their it first-hand. So she finances, with the ultimate objective and succeed in the long term. signed up and brought her being home ownership.”

– Blake Murdoch boyfriend along with her.

The Home Program provides an “They were like, ‘No, it educational component in the form doesn’t have to be this way.’ It gave us a leg up. They make of a six-hour course, which is offered multiple times per year, as you feel comfortable with the fact that people have been well as other supports including down payment assistance and onehere before you. You shouldn’t have fear. You should be on-one counselling for individuals looking to buy a home. Partners goal-oriented and they help you achieve your goals in such a in the program include the Alberta Real Estate Association’s positive way,” she says.

Affordable Housing Initiative, Canada Mortgage and Housing Following the advice in the program, Emily and her Corporation, the Alberta Real Estate Foundation and Edmonton’s husband Greg began saving and, two years later, they Capital Region Housing Corporation.

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a house, it’s too early and they’re wasting everyone’s time,” says Diana Riley, program administrator for The Home Program. “But they’re not. We can give them tools and help to set them up to buy a home. If you come to us early, we can give you tools early on, and it may shave a year or two off of your plans.”

She emphasizes, however, that it’s a long-term process.

“We have lots of people who took the program years ago and are just now buying their properties, so this is not just a quick fix; it’s ongoing.”

The efforts are well worth it, and not only to the individuals. “There have been a number of studies out there that have shown that individuals who own their own homes are more vested in their communities,” says Finley. “They become much more involved in what’s going on in their community when they’re homeowners, when they live in that community.”

Asset-building and financial literacy skills also make people less vulnerable when the economy is in a downturn, and The Home Program continues to offer expertise and guidance to clients as needed to meet any challenges they may face. “We don’t just give them the key to the house and walk away. We stay in contact with our successes and they know they can call us if they have a problem,” says Finley.

Every year, interest in the program grows, a trend which organizers hope will continue. But despite the growth, they are determined to offer the same high-quality, personalized education to support each person’s home-buying goals.

“We started out with six people in the class in 2001.

Currently, we move through about 500 participants each year,” says Finley. “No matter what, our commitment is to work with people until they are homeowners, and we will provide as much one-on-one support as they need.”

For more information, call 780-504-6161 or toll free at 1-877-504-6161 or visit the website at www.TheHomeProgram.ca.

The Housing Issue

Aside from one program administrator who works for the Capital Region Housing Corporation, The Home Program is a volunteer-run organization, set up and maintained by individuals in the real estate industry, including realtors, mortgage brokers, lawyers, and home inspectors.

“It’s an important service. The education and the down payment assistance programs offered through The Home Program make a huge difference for young people, or for people facing financial difficulties,” says Blake Murdoch, an Edmonton-based Realtor who now volunteers with the program. “The Home Program is about getting people into the best possible situation to reduce their debts and succeed in the long term.”

The Home Program recently partnered with United Way through the Alberta Asset-Building Collaborative, as part of the Empower U program. Empower U offers women living in poverty in the Alberta Capital Region financial education and savings assistance. Participants are encouraged to plan for their future through a 1:2 matched savings component, meaning that for every dollar saved, two dollars are made in matched contributions.

Participants can use these savings towards purchasing assets that move them ahead financially such as education for themselves or their children, purchases that help them with their employment, or home-based business.

It’s part of a bigger effort to improve the financial literacy of low income residents in the Alberta Capital Region and put support systems in place that promote their long-term success. Programs like these are taking people out of the rental system and out of subsidized housing to a position of greater financial stability where they can save money and build assets.

When people are in a position where they don’t have enough income to afford a home or they have credit issues, The Home Program works closely with them to address those challenges. “We’ll take care of the credit first,” explains Finley. “That may take six months to a year or at the longest it might take two years. And during that period of time, we’re providing them with whatever connections and assistance we can to make sure that their income is moving forward and that they’re making smart decisions so that when their income finally does get that number, they can move into home ownership.”

Interestingly enough, that number is not as high as a lot of people think it is, he adds. “Generally speaking, we say that if your household income is around $40,000, you should seriously be looking at home ownership in the near future.”

“Lots of people think because they’re not in a place to buy

BY THE NUMBERS 5,462 Session participants (total) 482 Session participants in 2015 234 Participating realtors 1,283 Successes (homes purchased through the program) 99 Successes in 2015 2,455 Active clients (actively looking for homes) $1,925,241 Total down payment assistance since 2001 $204,000 Down payment assistance in 2015

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by SYDNEE BRYANT

The Housing Issue

The Community Bridge program works to prevent eviction and keep people in their homes Photography by JARED EVANS

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ESPITE HER BEST EFFORTS, LAST SEPTEMBER Cassandra found herself on the brink of eviction from the condo where she lives with her husband and 11-year-old. The 29-year-old Edmontonian, who asked that her last name not be used, is a full-time student working two jobs, but she couldn’t pay her rent or bills.

EVICTION PREVENTION: The Community Bridge program tackles homelessness by reaching out to people who are at risk of eviction, says Gary St. Amand, interim CEO of the Bissell Centre.

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“I couldn’t make enough to cover everything at once,” she explains.

Cassandra, who attends CDI College, has trouble getting government assistance because she is currently classified as a full-time student. Her spouse, who has spent the last few years with medical issues and mental illness, currently does not work.

Cassandra’s situation isn’t unique. With Edmonton’s rental prices 32 per cent higher than the average rent in Canada’s metro areas, falling behind on paying rent or bills is a grim reality for some people in our city. And, until recently, there weren’t any programs in Edmonton working to prevent homelessness rather than dealing with the problem once it occurs.

The Community Bridge program at the Bissell Centre is the first program in the city to tackle the prevention side of things by helping people in dire situations stay in their current accommodations. The program, which started up in July 2014, helps to prevent eviction by focusing on two elements: money to cover rent and utilities, and working with recipients to ensure they don’t end up in the same situation a few months down the road.

United Way of Alberta Capital Region helps fund the program along with many other partners, including the City of Edmonton, Edmonton Community Foundation, Stollery Charitable Foundation and a private donor. United Way contributed $75,000 and also sits on the funding committee.

Cassandra found out about Community Bridge when her classmates at CDI College took it upon themselves to find a way to help the family from ending up on the streets. “We started calling anyone and everybody,” says Cassandra. “We got through to 311 [the city services line for the City of Edmonton] and they referred me to this program. I left a message and said, ‘I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m doing my best and it’s not good enough.’ ”

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She soon received a call from Eli Schrader, director and However, two-thirds of the clients helped by the Community Bridge program team lead for Community Bridge at the Bissell Centre. “He have annual incomes of less than $25,000. came to my school and did an interview and made sure The rules for the program are simple: there is no ceiling on the size of the everything I was doing was true, that I was trying to do grant or loan; there are no rules about how often someone can access the the best for my family,” explains Cassandra. “There are not program; paying the money back is requested but not enforced; recipients enough hours in the day to work to get the money I need to aren’t required to participate in specific programs; and they must agree to cover everything. They paid my rent and utilities so follow-ups with workers from the Bissell Centre. “It’s really one of the key I could focus on school and get back on top of everything.” things that we have focused on, with this: to minimize the amount of rules, The program was a “saving grace for my family,” says criteria and barriers. The more criteria you put in place, the more you say Cassandra. So far, since receiving the assistance from no to people,” explains St. Amand. “It comes down to – you’re at risk of Community Bridge, she eviction. It is not focused on people who has managed to pay her are chronically homeless. It is more geared They don’t make you feel worse rent and bills on time. In towards people who have been housed for than you already do because it’s a bad the spring, she’ll start a some period of time.” one-month practicum and Staff follow up with people to inquire situation already. They were very then graduate from college how they are doing in the months after they supportive and uplifting. and begin the search for a receive assistance. After the first year of the – Cassandra full-time job as a paralegal. pilot program, out of 110 cases, only one In the meantime, she doesn’t client returned to the program for further have any undue pressure to pay off the loan immediately, assistance. Cassandra got an uplifting follow-up call from someone asking like she would have to for a traditional loan. The program how the family was doing. “She asked if I was doing OK and if I needed works in a way that recipients are asked to pay the money anything at the moment,” says Cassandra. “They’re really, really nice people. back, if possible, but on a schedule that works for them.

They don’t make you feel worse than you already do because it’s a bad “They ask you to pay it back but they don’t put any kind of situation already. They were very supportive and uplifting.” stress on you. Whatever you can pay back, they put back Cassandra is determined to only ask for as much assistance as necessary into the program. If you can’t pay it, you just call them,” to keep her family going while she finishes school. “We have a house, we says Cassandra. have food on the table and we have each other. That’s enough. I don’t want to Statistics gathered by the program show that the number burden anyone,” she explains. “Right now, we’re OK. I don’t want to ask for one problem related to eviction is financial management, anything unless I really need it.” followed (in order of prevalence) by income, family issues, mental health, physical health, legal matters and substance abuse. “The staff works with clients to identify core issues COMMUNITY BRIDGE STATS that led to the situation happening,” explains Gary St. Amand, interim CEO of the Bissell Centre. Depending on JULY 2014 TO JUNE 30, 2015 what the client’s main issues are, the Bissell Centre will refer • 110 cases served (266 people, nearly half were children). them to one of their partner agencies. In the first year of the • 73% of the primary client in each case was female. program, 65 per cent of clients were given funding to help • 35% of clients were aboriginal and 8% were immigrants/newcomers. them cover their costs of living, while the remaining 35 per • 58% of cases were families. Of these, 70% were single-parent families largely headed cent were helped through advocacy and systems navigation. by females.

A large majority (73 per cent) of its primary clients are • Nearly two-thirds of cases had annual incomes below $25,000. female, and nearly half of the people helped by Community • 55% of cases have incomes from income security programs, while 27% had Bridge are families with children. Cassandra has now employment income. also applied for a subsidy for her rent through Capital • Bridge funding was provided in 65% of cases. Systems navigation and advocacy Region Housing. The average two-bedroom apartment in addressed 35% of the remaining cases.

Edmonton costs $1,250 a month, making it the fourth• After three months, 85% of people were still housed. most expensive city in Canada in which to rent, following • Only one of the 110 returned for a second intervention from Community Bridge staff.

Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, respectively. In 2013, the • The average cost per case: $2,000. The cost per individual was $827. median income for a family in Edmonton was $98,480.

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LiFting a Community up.

Thank you For 125 years oF lending a hand.

What’s at the top of your bucket list?

Helping kids like Dang is on ours.

Business, employee volunteers, charities, and community joining hands to make things better. This is the essence of EPCOR’s 125 years of working within the community. And it includes developing a new education-focused model for partnerships based not only on funding but on longer-term relationships, employee volunteer engagement, and career exposure to support future employability for socially vulnerable youth.

Something that Dang got a first taste of when BGCBigs and EPCOR launched a new three-year, $150,000 partnership for McCauley After School Club.

Here’s to another 125 years of working together to make our communities shine.

In the most recent homeless count* 2,307 people were experiencing homelessness 2012

2,174 2,421

2010

3,079

2008

FEMALE

OTHER

1%

27% 72% MALE

25% decrease since 2008

RANGE OF AGES

53% 47% ABORIGINAL

15% 13% 7% 23% 25% 13% 4% YEARS UNDER 18

18-24

25-30

31-44

45-54

55-64

At least 335 children under the age of 18 were without a home, an increase of 20% from 2012

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65+

Aboriginal people are 9 times more likely than the average population to be experiencing homelessness

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SOURCES OF INCOME FOR THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS

31% 14%

Of those experiencing homelessness, some are employed (27%), some are receiving assistance from the provincial government (42%) and others reported having no income at all (16%). Many others receive a pension, panhandle, collect bottles or rely on family and friends.

NO INCOME EMPLOYMENT

25%

Numbers do not add to 100%, as some individuals have more than one source of income

26% 25% OTHER

YOUTH ADULT

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

27%

26%

UNSHELTERED

425

45%

The Challenge PROVISIONALLY ACCOMMODATED

471 SHELTERED

1,411

• Rental apartment vacancy in June 2015 was 2.4% in Edmonton and 2.9% nationally • Rent for an average two-bedroom apartment was $1,250, a 4.4% increase over 2014 • As of November 2015, the median single family home sold for $438,935 and condo for $244,225

The Need • 1 in 10 households are paying too much for housing or living in inadequate conditions • Almost 8,000 households are on Capital Region Housing Corporation’s wait list, and they receive 250 new applications monthly

Housing First The Housing First program, launched in 2009, has helped more than 3,300 people – including 900 children – to find homes in the last five years. These are mostly chronically homeless individuals or families with children.

• Of those housed in 2014 through Housing First, 77% were housed outside of the inner city • 93% of people served through Housing First in 2014 have retained their home *2014 figures

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Sources: Homeward Trust, Homeless Commission

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HOUSE AND HOME: George Belcourt, pictured here with his wife Darilyn and grandchildren Teagan and Tiana, was homeless for three years before getting help from the Nikinhk Aboriginal Housing First program.

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Connection

The Housing Issue

CULTURAL Culturally based programs offer Edmonton’s aboriginal homeless population healing and hope

by JULIE-ANNE CLEYN

Photography by DARRYL PROPP

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VERY OTHER YEAR, HOMEWARD TRUST, A NOT-FOR-PROFIT organization that works to end homelessness in Edmonton, conducts an official count of the number of people who are homeless in the city. This Homeless Count provides a snapshot of this population at a given point, and also highlights trends and patterns over time.

What often stands out in these tallies is the disproportionate number of aboriginal people among the homeless. In the 2014 count, 47 per cent of homeless individuals in Edmonton identified themselves as aboriginal.

With the aboriginal population making up only five per cent of the population, that means aboriginal people in the city are nine times more likely than the overall population to be experiencing homelessness.

It’s more than a statistic for people like George Belcourt, who was homeless for roughly three years and was separated from his children.

He couldn’t find a home at the time because he had no credit and no job.

He was also struggling with mental health and addiction issues.

Today, however, Belcourt is living in a “nice townhome in a nice neighbourhood,” he says. His children are living with him again, as well as his wife, and it’s thanks to assistance from the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, a non-profit organization that provides programs and services to Edmonton’s aboriginal population.

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opposed to mainstream treatment services, especially when dealing with The root causes for aboriginal homelessness are many, and include displacement from traditional homelands, systematic addiction, have had more success.”

The program provides support to those experiencing addiction, mental racism, residential schools and the “Sixties Scoop” (a period health issues, lack of education and other barriers to stable housing and of time between the 1960s and ’80s when thousands of is funded through Homeward Trust. aboriginal children were placed with mostly non-native Employees with four different roles work within Nikihk Aboriginal adoptive families). Lovette Ferguson, manager at Bent Housing First, says Ferguson. The housing outreach worker finds Arrow, adds that “intergenerational trauma,” though it is not affordable housing. The follow-up support the entire problem, created worker addresses the barriers that lead some very unhealthy cycles in The participants who utilize families and individuals to the program, family members. the aboriginal culture The Bent Arrow including legal issues, incarceration and as a form of healing as opposed Traditional Healing Society abuse. The trauma support worker deals with was created in 1994, when mental and physical health. And the cultural to mainstream treatment services, founders Brad and Shauna especially when dealing with addiction, and spiritual educator provides individuals Seneca identified that with access to supports and services that have had more success. aboriginal children, youth allow them to connect to the aboriginal – Lovette Ferguson and their families needed culture, including introductions to elders, programming based in ceremonies and traditional practices. traditional indigenous values and teachings in order to The trauma support worker and the cultural and spiritual educator develop spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally. are two positions that aren’t typically found in Housing First programs, Belcourt received help through the society’s Nikihk says Ferguson. Their role is such that they go into the home and connect Aboriginal Housing First program. “One of the program’s participants with mainstream and cultural services and also work strengths is that it is really a culturally based program,” collaboratively to offer life skills training. They teach clients skills such says Ferguson, manager at Bent Arrow. “The participants as education and awareness on healthy boundaries: they identify the who utilize the aboriginal culture as a form of healing as health of clients’ own boundaries and build a plan to create healthier

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The Housing Issue ones when necessary. The workers show them how to budget, and help outdoors, or in a homeless shelter, couch them identify low cost or free resources available to them. The workers surfing or a combination of all three. Many also teach them about career planning, and educate them on the participants find out about Bent Arrow programs available to them to achieve their career goals, whether it’s through word of mouth, and Nikihk uses going back to school or finding a job. This onean assessment tool to on-one life skills training has received extremely determine suitable The higher the need positive feedback from participants, says Ferguson. candidates for the is what would get them Nikihk is helping Belcourt with his mental program. It asks them into our program. health issues, too, and referred him to a drug and about their current – Lovette Ferguson alcohol program. Ferguson says it’s the follow-up living situation, their support worker who navigates participants towards barriers to stable the treatment facility they want to pursue, noting housing and a variety that it’s not a requirement that participants address their addiction. of other questions. “The higher the need is Nikihk takes the harm reduction approach in some cases, so, “If a person what would get them into our program,” is not ready to give up using, for example, we would look at ways that says Ferguson. they can still do that safely, so it’s not at risk to them, or their home,” says When Nikihk has an influx of new Ferguson. Belcourt, though, wanted to seek treatment for his drug and participants, they’ll host an orientation for alcohol abuse. them, where Belcourt now speaks about the After Nikihk addresses immediate needs and the client has benefits of the program. “It was one of the maintained stability for a certain period of time, Homeward Trust offers programs that Bent Arrow offers, and a lot of additional assistance, but it’s not long term. So, it is determined whether the clients don’t take advantage of it,” he says. employment can be achieved in a year, and how it can be reached.

Bent Arrow offers a number of other Prior to seeking the support of the staff at Nikihk, Ferguson says programs that address homelessness at a its homeless clients have usually been “sleeping rough,” which means frontline level in one form or another, says

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Ferguson. For example, Ferguson was a successful applicant for the Urgent Family Initiative, which secures stable housing for families in a hotel. The New in Town Aboriginal Welcome Services allows aboriginal people new to Edmonton to access supports and services and get help finding housing. Journey to Success helps clients find and maintain employment.

Orenda House is a transitional apartment complex for young aboriginal families who are homeless or about to become homeless. They can occupy the ninesuite apartment building for up to three years. For families that don’t qualify, for example for Orenda House, Ferguson says the staff will provide them with resources to try other programs, such as Housing First.

The Bent Arrow staff often knows which Housing First programs have spots available, so they provide participants with that information.

As of April 1, 2016, Bent Arrow will be starting a three-year employment initiative with United Way funding, called “Transitions to Success - Career and Employment Support Program.”

While they may seem like small efforts to address a complex and systemic problem, for people like George Belcourt, getting off the streets and finding secure housing has proven to be an important first step in rebuilding his life.

EDMONTON’S ABORIGINAL POPULATION BY THE NUMBERS

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• The post-secondary education attainment rate of aboriginal people is improving. In 2011, 52.3% of those 25 years and older had a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 39.4% in 2001.

According to a 2015 Leger Poll: • More than 7 in 10 Edmontonians agree that poverty is more prevalent among the aboriginal population (78%), people of aboriginal origin are often subject to discrimination (76%) and that homelessness is more prevalent among the aboriginal population (72%).

• Almost half (47%) of Edmontonians believe that the City of Edmonton should do more to support its aboriginal population.

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Source: Edmonton Vital Signs

• Edmonton’s aboriginal population totals 61,765, 5.4% of Edmonton’s population.

• Edmonton has the second largest aboriginal population of any metro area in Canada after Winnipeg. It increased 1.4% over 10 years earlier, more than double the rate of increase in the overall population.

• Edmonton’s aboriginal population is expected to increase by 89% by 2036 to 123,000.

• The median age of aboriginal people in Edmonton in 2011 was 25.8 years, over 10 years younger than the 36.5 year age of the entire population.

• 57.5% of aboriginal people are 29 years and younger, compared to 40.2% of the entire population.

• 76.1% of aboriginal people lived in the same home as they did one year earlier, compared to 84.6% of all Edmontonians.

SPONSOR PROFILE

BRIGHT FUTURE: EPCOR recently launched a $150,000 partnership with BGCBigs’ McCauley Club, making a difference in the lives of children like eight-year-old Dang.

LIFTING UP A COMMUNITY EPCOR celebrates 125 years of working together with local service organizations to help those in need

R

IDING HIGH IN A BUCKET TRUCK ABOVE GIOVANNI Caboto Park on a September evening in McCauley, eight-year-old Dang looked out with an infectious grin over a community that is working together to lift him up.

It was his first day at the Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters’ (BGCBigs) McCauley Afterschool Club. He and 20 other club kids arrived to the sight of a large EPCOR bucket truck, dress-up station with coveralls and safety goggles, boots and hard hats, a water lab complete with vials, test tubes, and lab coats – and a group of 15 equally excited and eager EPCOR employees.

Customer service consultant Claudia Odoardi-Sanchez was one of them, dressed in EPCOR’s light-bulb mascot costume, Flash. “The smiles on those faces … having a hand in bringing joy to a kid’s day is one of the most rewarding things I get to do.”

Business, employee volunteers, charities, and community joining hands to make things better. This snapshot in time captures the essence of EPCOR’s 125 years of working within the community and the belief that great things are possible when working together.

“Over the span of 12 decades, EPCOR has had the privilege of growing with our city beyond just keeping the lights on and the water flowing, but by supporting local organizations who are working tirelessly to give a hand up to those that need it the

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most,” says EPCOR president and CEO Stuart Lee. That means raising nearly $5.5 million through EPCOR United Way campaigns since 1993. It means funding nearly $2 million in charitable programs through the EPCOR Community Essentials Council (ECEC) since 2011, and investing approximately $1 million annually in communities EPCOR operates in. Working together, the future is bright. In 2015, the launch of a new ECEC funding focus on educational supports for socially vulnerable youth was born not in a boardroom, but from community.

“The idea developed from many conversations with charities, business and community leaders that started with, ‘What can EPCOR bring to the table to make a bigger difference together?’ ” says Lee. What developed was a model for partnerships based not only on funding but on longer-term relationships, employee volunteer engagement, and career exposure to support future employability for those helped through the partnerships.

It was something Dang got a first taste of in the bucket truck that evening when BGCBigs and EPCOR launched a new threeyear $150,000 partnership for McCauley Club.

“We may power our city, but kids like Dang – and the organizations like BGCBigs and United Way that support those in need – ignite the light in us,” says Lee. “Here’s to another 125 years of working together to make our communities shine.”

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The Housing Issue

Better Together Communities join together for a threeyear campaign to house Canada’s most vulnerable, chronically homeless population

by MICHELLE LINDSTROM

Illustration by HEFF O’REILLEY

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EARN FROM OTHERS AND BUILD OFF OF THEIR experiences. That’s a philosophy Tim Richter, president and CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), took when applying an American-based campaign – 100,000 Homes Campaign by Community Solutions – to Canada.

The 100,000 Homes Campaign ran from July 2010 to July 2014 and successfully housed more than 105,000 people with the help of roughly 175 participating communities across the United States. Already having homelessness top of mind, Richter applied similar concepts to Canada’s recently launched 20,000 Homes campaign, a national focus that currently has 21 Canadian communities participating to house 20,000 people across the country by July 1, 2018.

Susan McGee, chief executive officer of Homeward Trust Edmonton, says, “20,000 Homes was launched by the CAEH after talking to leading communities nationally about its

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potential ... and different communities are starting it at different times with different processes.”

McGee says Homeward Trust Edmonton was involved in those early discussions and is very committed to support a national effort to end homelessness.

Homeward Trust Edmonton is a non-profit organization, created in 2008, that is working to end homelessness in the city. Staying connected with community resources, the organization responds to the city’s housing needs by collaborating with local agencies, non-profits like United Way of the Alberta Capital Region and all levels of government.

In 2009, former mayor Stephen Mandel launched Edmonton’s 10Year Plan to End Homelessness, and since, the city has gained related data, provincial government funding, community connections and housing solutions.

Homeward Trust’s Housing First program was launched in April “The whole point of the registry event is to meet people 2009 as part of the 10-year plan with the support of both municipal where they are in the community,” Emerson says, adding and provincial governments. The program finds safe, secure housing this enables volunteers and staff to connect with people who for the homeless and also provides follow-up supports. When clients may not use community resources but still want and need are stabilized, support systems are reduced to eventually get them to housing services. a point of self-sufficiency.

Part of Emerson’s role is to connect with community Dominique Emerson, Homeward Trust 20,000 Homes campaign agencies – Salvation Army, Kindred House and Edmonton project manager, says, “Because we’re so far into our 10-year plan, Public Library’s Penny McKee/Abbottsfield branch, to name we’re using the 20,000 Homes cama few – to use as headquarters paign as a sprint to our finish line.” for Homeward Trust’s sixWhat I’m really hoping the campaign tells Emerson adds that the camweek registry for the 20,000 us that we didn’t know before, is a little more paign also helps Homeward Trust Homes campaign. about the chronically homeless population remind community members that For the registry, her team there are still people out there in met people who were exthat lives outside the regular system who desperate need of a home, and periencing homelessness at may not be using the drop-ins as much as agencies need help from Edmonto“headquarter” agencies, asked others or going to shelter. nians to house everyone. questions about their housing – Susan McGee, CEO, Homeward Trust Edmonton For Homeward Trust Edmonton, situation and then explained the 20,000 Homes campaign is what the 20,000 Homes cammore of a registration process to identify those at the greatest risk of paign was about. If the person wanted to be registered, his or illness or death due to homelessness. “In terms of starting the [20,000 her name was taken down, a photo taken (if willing), and he or Homes campaign], we haven’t stopped or slowed down our housing she was added to the list. activities at all,” says McGee. “We’re trying to work off one list [in Edmonton] as opposed She says Homeward Trust is trying to reinforce the things that to agencies all having their own prioritization list,” Emerson made its Housing First program so successful in the first place says. “We don’t call it a waiting list because we operate from a because the 20,000 Homes campaign requires the same things: prioritization standpoint and we’re all trying to work together inclusive communities and welcoming people. “Once people are to build this one prioritization list that we call a registry.” housed, they are no longer homeless,” she says. “They’re just like any Mid-December 2015 was the estimated end date for collectother Albertan or Edmontonian who needs to be welcomed into ing names to add to Edmonton’s registry. Emerson explains their community and we’re looking for ways that Edmontonians can that a definite date is hard to set due to everyone learning in support that.” real time what the full scope of Edmonton’s homeless popula-

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The Housing Issue

CORE ELEMENTS There are six core elements of the 20,000 Homes campaign:

1. Knowing every homeless person by name and understanding each person’s needs and preferences.

tion looks like. They will still register people after this point, but they wanted a point where they could regroup, look at the list and report back to the community what they had found.

As of the end of November 2015, with two more registry events to take place, 297 homeless Edmontonians were registered and 24 were assigned to Housing First teams.

“What I’m really hoping the campaign tells us that we didn’t know before, is a little more about the chronically homeless population that lives outside the regular system who may not be using the drop-ins as much as others or going to shelters,” McGee says. “We have such an unknown until we finish the registry.”

Previous data collected – roughly 20,000 homeless people in Canada and over 2,000 in Edmonton – often left out those who didn’t want to be counted, McGee explains. “The real value in that data is in comparing one count over the last count,” she says. “So it’s about a trend.”

McGee says staff, volunteers and partners are open to what the registry tells them. “If it tells us that there are 200 individuals, and we know who they are and we can address their needs and house them in a year, that’s one thing,” she says. “If it tells us that there are several hundred thousand and their needs are so complex that the type of case management approach of the Housing First program isn’t sufficient to meet their medical, physical and mental health needs, then we need to get our act together and address their needs.”

“I’m so proud of what Edmonton and Alberta has done, but we have to be so disciplined to not make it just a program,” McGee says. “The 20,000 Homes campaign is about reminding us all collectively that we have an urgency and timeliness associated with this work and, frankly, when we don’t do it, people die.”

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each community.

3. Using data to track progress and to make decisions to improve a community’s homeless programs and the system as a whole.

4. Improving housing placement and working toward building a coordinated local homelessness system of care focused on ending homelessness.

5. Learning from other communities across Canada.

6. Providing a united voice at a national and provincial level to secure the housing and resources necessary to end homelessness in Canada.

Source: www.20khomes.ca

2. Implementing Housing First in a way that makes sense for

GUIDING PRINCIPLES Each participating community can approach processes in its own way, but the national campaign focuses on six key principles: 1. HOUSING FIRST: Permanent, safe, appropriate and affordable housing with the support necessary to sustain it happens first and fast. We believe housing is a right for all Canadians.

2. KNOWING WHO’S OUT THERE: Every person is known by name because someone deliberately went out onto the streets, into shelters and wherever necessary to find them, assess their needs and meet them where they are.

3. TRACKING OUR PROGRESS: Local teams and the national campaign will use regularly collected, person-specific data to accurately track progress towards the goal. We will be transparent in our progress through good times and bad.

4. IMPROVING LOCAL SYSTEMS: We will seek to build coordinated housing and support systems that are simple to navigate, while targeting resources quickly and efficiently to the people who need it the most.

5. RESOLUTELY FOCUSED ON OUR MISSION: We are not interested in who gets credit or who gets blame. We are only interested in achieving our objective and ending homelessness.

6. TAKING ACTION: We favour action over perfection and will find a way to meet our objectives, despite the challenges that will come.

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NEW BEGINNINGS: The Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers is helping people like Mohamad Mawed and his extended family to adjust to a new life in Canada.

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The Housing Issue

Housing shortages are only one of many issues facing immigrants and refugees

by CAROLINE BARLOTT

Photography by COOPER + O’HARA

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OR MONTHS, IMAGES AND STORIES OF REFUGEES WHO HAVE fled their homes have dominated news coverage. Millions of people have been displaced from cities in Syria as well as many other countries due to conflict in their homeland, with some finding temporary refuge in outlying areas – Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan – and others taking dangerous journeys further afield, hoping for a chance to rebuild their lives in another part of the world. For its part, Canada has promised to accept 25,000 newcomers from Syria, with close to 1,500 arriving in Edmonton by February 2016.

Before they find a permanent spot, refugees are in a type of limbo without a home, work, education or guaranteed safety, says Mohamad Mawed, whose extended family is among those who fled the country.

In 2012, Mawed himself immigrated to Canada after working in the tourism and travel industry, initially in Syria and later the United Arab Emirates.

He came to Canada with the hopes that members of his family still in Syria would be able to leave behind the violence of their home country.

And in June of this year, Mawed’s brother and his sister-in-law, Ahmed Maouaed and Hyat Almawed, along with their four children, were accepted into Canada as refugees. After fleeing their Syrian city, they had been living with family in Lebanon without permanent citizenship, the opportunity to work legally, or schooling for their 14-yearold daughter.

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It had been two and a half years since they had a place to call their own. “We can now build our future and go back to our normal lives, which we lost due to lack of safety before we arrived to Canada,” wrote Maouaed and Almawed via email. The family was privately sponsored, and prior to their arrival, Mawed found them a safe, new home.

HOUSING IS OFTEN THE MOST IMMEDIATE AND PRESSING

matter to secure for newcomers. For Maouaed and Almawed, having a new home right away upon coming to Canada meant they could start building their lives rather than worrying about the basics. The Islamic Family and Social Services Association along with the Mennonite Central Committee Alberta acted as the family’s private sponsors, securing permanent residency – and providing any help needed with settlement.

BUT THE ADJUSTMENT TO A NEW LIFE IN But it’s not always as easy as simply signing a lease, says Suzanne Gross a different country – with a different language, culture of EMCN. It’s a challenge for organizations and sponsors to find affordable and way of life – can often housing. While some immigrants have the be overwhelming for new means to afford market prices, there are We can now build our future immigrants and refugees. many who need lower income options. and go back to our normal lives, That’s where organizations Many refugees, for example, may have which we lost due to lack of safety like the Edmonton Mennonite made a good living in their home country, Centre for Newcomers but are impoverished from living in before we arrived to Canada.

(EMCN) come in. desperate situations without the means to – Ahmed Maouaed and Hyat Almawed EMCN helped Mawed legally work. For these newcomers, there update his resumé, develop are two options: private sponsorship, excellent English skills and secure his official papers. They where individuals and organizations provide the funds for refugees’ living helped him make connections in the community and to expenses, and government assistance through Catholic Social Services, understand Canadian culture, which he says has been which has the federal contract to settle refugees in Edmonton. incredibly helpful. Meanwhile, his extended family is While EMCN is able to help many families like Mawed’s, unfortunately taking English classes through EMCN, which also helped many newcomers are still at risk for homelessness. Capital Region them find jobs and enroll their young daughter in school.

Housing operates and administers social housing but the demand is great Their adult sons are looking to upgrade their education, and affordable options are slim. which they hope will lead to better jobs.

Rent has increased in recent years, and government allowances, which EMCN assists up to 15,000 immigrants and refugees are given to refugees for their first year of residence, do not generally cover annually with many aspects of their new lives, including both food and rent, says Gross. While private sponsors can top up their settlement and securing a new home, language acquisition, funding, those with government assistance can face financial struggles. As counselling and employment. The organization’s south side a result, there can be emergency situations with some newcomers facing location supports many professionally skilled immigrants eviction. In these cases, EMCN can refer newcomers to other programs. while the north location assists many refugees – over 50 Sometimes, temporary housing is a short-term solution to high per cent – coming from places such as Syria, Iraq, the demands. But challenges can arise in these situations as well. Gross Congo and Ethiopia. recalls a refugee family, for example, that had to be put into substandard Many newcomers held highly skilled lines of work in housing because nothing else was available at the time. Children’s their home countries, and the centre helps to apply those Services became involved – a sad situation given that the parents skills to a Canadian context. For example, there is an had little choice. Now, the family is in Capital Regional Housing and Engineering Technologist Integration Program and an everything worked out. But the story illustrates the severe problems that Accounting Bridging Program which helps participants – can result from lack of proper housing. “It’s not just having a roof; it’s to date over 1,300 – upgrade computer and English skills having good housing,” says Gross. so they can continue pursuing their careers.

Since many newcomers, particularly refugees, came ANOTHER EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ASPECT OF EMCN’S from very difficult circumstances, and may experience mandate, says Gross, is ensuring communities respect newcomers and post-traumatic stress, EMCN offers specialized appreciate the value they’ve been bringing to the country for decades. counselling. There are also many programs for connecting When certain events happen in the world – the November 15, 2015, members of the community, and EMCN has a van that Paris terrorist attacks are a prime example – Gross says there are two it can use to pick up individuals to ensure those without types of responses. There are plenty of people who feel sympathy for transportation options can attend. those who are fleeing those types of attacks, and there are people whose

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WELCOMING REFUGEES AS OF EARLY JANUARY, 104 GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED Syrian refugees had arrived in the city on commercial planes from Toronto and Montreal. “We are expecting to see about 800 government-sponsored refugees by the beginning of March,” says Catholic Social Services (CSS) spokesperson Michael Di Massa.

Once they arrive, they are greeted by an airport reception settlement counsellor and taken to a temporary housing facility in Edmonton (Reception House or a local hotel), where they spend two weeks getting oriented to life in Edmonton. That includes learning basic English, how to use Edmonton transit, health screening, filling out various forms and help with securing permanent rental housing, among other things.

Once newcomers find homes, continued support is provided: assistance with school registration, language testing, helping to find a family doctor, connecting to employment services and other community supports as needed.

CSS has set up a registry for people who are interested in renting out a living space for refugees: www.catholicsocialservices.ab.ca

The Housing Issue

fear can turn to prejudice. That prejudice can result in fear of newcomers, and the newcomers are impacted by it.

“They’re fearful that they’ll be treated badly just because they have an Arabic accent or are wearing a hijab.

I think it’s our job to stand up when we see that happening.

In our agency, where no prejudice exists, they smile, they greet, and they play their community-building role freely.

And it breaks my heart when they’re afraid to do that out in the community,” says Gross.

She remembers one immigrant family had their heat severely restricted in the winter by the landlord, and their mail opened and thrown down the stairs. That family was able to thrive despite the struggles, working and saving enough money to put a down payment on their own house.

But the fact that the prejudice exists saddens Gross.

“I do see glimmers of hope,” says Gross, citing a partnership between EMCN and Inner City Housing.

There is a church with a shrinking congregation in the city that has decided to use some of its property to build several large family units for use by immigrants and refugees. “So, there’s goodwill out there but it needs to be recognized and celebrated.”

In November, another example of goodwill came in the form of an unexpected donation to EMCN. They’d set up a fund with a goal of raising $10,000 over two months with the money going towards supporting Syrian refugees. They reached their goal earlier than expected when Andrew Ference, a member of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team, donated the full amount.

This type of support is extremely meaningful to families like Mawed’s who are now able to put down roots, and start rebuilding their lives again. “We want to participate to help build Canada and live in peace. Canada is known for its respect of human rights, equality and social justice,” said Maouaed and Almawed.

“But it will take time. After they improve their English, they can improve their study. They also need to learn about life in Canada, and how the system works. Each step will help them get their lives back to normal,” says Mawed.

Having a safe place to stay and supports from organizations including EMCN has made for a much easier transition. But Mawed recognizes there are still many people in need including many family members, friends and neighbours. His sister’s family recently arrived in Germany after an extremely dangerous 25-day trek from Syria. He’s hopeful that their applications will be accepted and they will be able to find a safe haven in Edmonton like his brother’s family.

UNITED WAY AND PARTNER AGENCIES PROVIDE A NUMBER OF supports including ESL training, job and vocational training, financial literacy training, school supplies for children, warm winter clothing, mentors, permanent housing, food security, and counselling.

Some of these include: • Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers - settlement, ESL, food security, housing, job skills and job placement (For more information, visit emcn.ab.ca) • 211 – Information and referral line (can translate to Arabic for newcomers) • Regional food banks • Project Adult Literacy Society - (ESL) • Canadian Mental Health Agency/The Support Network – Crisis Intervention Services • The Family Centre – Interpreter Services • E4C School Lunch Program • BGCBigs – mentoring and before/after school programming • Regional Boys and Girls Clubs – before/after school programming • YMCA – family support and programming, building community connections • United Way’s Tools for School and Coats for Kids & Families

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SPONSOR PROFILE

A PLACE TO CALL HOME Brookfield Residential thinks all Albertans deserve a safe place to live

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HEN MEMBERS OF BROOKFIELD RESIDENTIAL’S donation committee sat down to discuss the company’s philanthropic opportunities, they knew that supporting a strong, protected community, where everyone can feel the comfort of home, was a key part of their mandate. ”Contributing to breaking the cycle of poverty is a collective responsibility,” says Scott Janis, president at Brookfield Residential in Edmonton. This is why the company is proud to support United Way. “As a land developer and homebuilder, we know that we need to work towards giving all Albertans an opportunity to have a roof over their heads,” says Richard Westren, senior vice-president at Brookfield Residential.

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With a shortage of affordable housing across Alberta, Brookfield Residential has established this as a company goal. “This is a complex issue that’s about more than making ends meet. At Brookfield Residential we know that lack of shelter is a major problem that often leads to lack of independence, lack of stability and subsequent further poverty. Because Brookfield Residential is in the homebuilding industry, we are committed to helping people find a place to call home, a place where they’re safe, where they can belong.”

“We want our dollars and cents to go where it is needed the most, and we’ll rely on United Way for that direction,” says Janis. “United Way supports numerous programs, and we want to support the community around us.”

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Though Brookfield Residential has properties across North America, it continues to focus on helping people in each of its local communities connect with opportunity. “It’s what we do as a business every day,” says Westren, “helping people find their own place to live, work, play and put down roots.”

“Social inclusion is really important and ties into community; United Way aligns with what we stand for,” says Charlene Barrett, senior manager of marketing and communications at Brookfield Residential in Edmonton. “We are really excited about the opportunity to be able to provide financial support to United Way because it helps support what we hold near and dear to our hearts in building a better community.”

While Brookfield Residential’s commitment is financial for the time being, the company hopes to expand beyond that in the future. “This gives us an opportunity for starting out, and we look forward to growing in a number of ways,” says Westren. “Our employees find this cause close to them, and we know we can create opportunities for them to get involved,” Barrett adds.

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Janis agrees: “United Way is a widespread organization that touches multiple avenues, which resonates with us and our team members.” United Way’s support of many different community partners means that Brookfield Residential’s donation is heading to on-the-ground organizations that need it most.

One measure of a community is how well it takes care of its most vulnerable people, says Westren, and that’s something that Brookfield Residential is committed to – the company has supported youth empowerment projects and social services organizations in the Edmonton area such as Habitat for Humanity, Edmonton Catholic Social Services and the Kids Kottage Foundation.

“We’re committed to making the cities we operate in a better place to live, work and raise a family,” says Janis.

“Poverty is a big issue to overcome, so helping provide shelter is important to us.” In its pledge to make Alberta a better place to live, work and play, Brookfield Residential is reaching out to the community – one home at a time.

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BUSINESS WAY

Turning a New Page PCL Construction donates personal care items to Homeless Connect as part of a record-breaking campaign EVEN IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC uncertainty, companies are stepping forward and providing community support in unprecedented ways. This couldn’t ring more true for PCL and its employees, who collected items for a total of 2,400 personal care kits for Homeless Connect as part of a donation challenge during its United Way campaign this past October.

Homeless Connect is an initiative that provides free services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. Since 2008, two events have been hosted per year, where sponsors including United Way, service providers and volunteers gather at the Shaw Conference Centre to offer a helping hand.

Every year, PCL’s United Way committee picks a theme for its donation campaign.

For 2015, it chose “Everyone Has a Story.”

“The more we understand about what people are going through, the more we can help them with their stories, or to turn a new page in their book, or to make that story a better story for the upcoming year,” says Travis Chorney, PCL vice-president and general manager, and this year’s United Way campaign chair.

In keeping with this spirit, committee members Holly Fedderly and Michelle Tatchell brought forward the idea to donate to Homeless Connect. The committee thought this was a tangible way to support the community while helping people turn a new page in their lives.

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by ERIN MCCARTY

What they accomplished this year was truly remarkable. “When you factor in that each kit had around 10 different items in it … we’re talking around 30,000 items were collected, organized, packaged and then delivered,” says Sheldon Smart, the United Way campaign manager who worked with PCL this year. “That’s pretty extraordinary.” PCL employees not only donated the necessary contents, including items such as socks, toothbrushes and deodorant, but also volunteered to help hand out the kits at the event.

What is perhaps even more profound is the 73 per cent participation rate from PCL employees. Supporting the community is inherent in company culture; it’s built right into PCL’s operation under its corporate social responsibility pillar, says Smart. Engagement from CEO Paul Douglas is also a driving force. Douglas sends a personal message of encouragement and support to staff on the day the campaign launches each year. This year, he sent out a video sharing his reasons for supporting United Way, says Chorney, who has worked at PCL since 1996. While this is only Chorney’s second year as part of the United Way campaign committee and his first as a chair, he has seen many successful campaigns and is really touched by employees’ generosity.

“Part of PCL’s genetic code is having a philanthropic spirit about us,” he says.

“Some of our great leaders certainly understood about giving back to the

communities where we live and work, and United Way is all about that.”

In addition to its annual two-week United Way campaign, PCL has launched a separate donation challenge every year since 2012. These have included Coats for Kids & Families, collecting for Edmonton’s Food Bank, and last year’s book drive, which brought in over 10,000 books for children in our community. Chorney explains that these are ways to focus on more than just dollars and make a real impact in people’s lives.

“It’s something we can put our hands on and we can see and you can touch and you know people are going to immediately benefit from those kinds of things. That’s a great part of our campaign that’s evolved over the past few years,” he says.

Smart says this year’s overall campaign was the largest to date – raising a record $3 million – since the partnership between PCL and United Way began in 1969. “The fact that they achieved their biggest and best campaign ever in our history in this window of time is a story that we are going to be able to tell and inspire.”

The strong working partnership with United Way also contributed to the success of the campaign. “Sheldon and United Way supported us throughout the campaign and in numerous capacities, so there was a really good collaboration between our organizations. To me, that’s the model of how we need to continue to work together and build on every year to help people,” says Chorney.

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L EADING EDGE

On the Line CMHA Edmonton Region and The Support Network come together to save a vital community resource

by DAVID DICENZO

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN A VOICE on the other end of a telephone can make all the difference. For Edmontonians in crisis, the Distress Line has provided that necessary comfort. It has been an invaluable local resource in the community for more than 40 years. But just a year ago, funding challenges left the future of the service in doubt.

Ione Challborn, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Edmonton Region, had an idea. On January 9, 2015, Challborn met with Nancy McCalder, who at the time was close to retiring from her role as executive director of The Support Network (TSN), which ran the telephone service. The subject matter was simple – Challborn wanted to know if McCalder thought that amalgamating CMHA and TSN was a good plan.

“Nancy said yes,” Challborn recalls.

The idea, which would save the Distress Line, was widely welcomed. Without any action by June 30, 2015, that service would have no longer been able to operate 24 hours per day. The line receives 1,500 calls a month, 500 of which involve an immediate crisis – so Challborn knew it was essential that something be done. And her idea to put all of the services under the CMHA banner was the answer.

The partnership went live on November 1, 2015, and the transition has essentially been seamless.

“The first goal we had was that from the client’s perspective, we wanted everything

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to look and feel the same,” says Challborn.

“Every phone number is the same; [the clients] work with the same staff and go to the same places.”

“From a governance perspective, two outgoing board members for TSN have joined the CMHA board and two others have joined standing committees. A lot of history has come to us. There is a real desire to work towards a common mission.”

Through alignment, the CMHA’s capacity to intervene and provide support for those at risk of suicide or who are dealing with a mental health issue has increased. The Distress Line is available 24 hours a day, and peer support groups remain an integral part of the services.

Another priority is expanding the volunteer base for the Distress Line. Challborn wants a stable, diverse core, be it students looking to kick-start careers or those with varying ethnic backgrounds who can offer experience and mentorship.

On the prevention and education side, the CMHA’s 211 telephone line provides information on community resources, while its courses such as Applied Suicide

Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) provide the tools to help.

Challborn says that 15 more housing units for the mentally ill were added in August, bringing that total to 146 in Edmonton. The goal, she says, is to ensure there is never a waiting list.

“Prior to the integration, both organizations would have been looking ahead in terms of three to five year plans and how to both anticipate community needs and respond to them,” says Challborn, using the example of Syrian refugees. “That’s not changing.”

Instead, the amalgamation has provided strength.

“I couldn’t be more excited and I know that Nancy feels the same way,” says Challborn. “It was a very intense experience. There is a good spirit and energy among everyone.

“I really take my hat off to Nancy and her colleagues at TSN because they had the vision. They had to have a lot of trust and confidence in CMHA. I feel a tremendous responsibility to safeguard what they’ve entrusted us.”

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MILESTONES

Engineered to Give Celebrating 10 years of the Engineering Challenge

by KIM TANNAS

ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, MORE than 70 volunteers from 18 engineering firms gathered at Northstar Apartments, a transitional housing complex partially funded by Boyle Street Community Services, in order to transform an empty courtyard into a vibrant community space for its residents. Northstar is a 62-unit apartment building that houses low-income individuals and families, some of whom were previously homeless.

The efforts were part of the annual Engineering Day of Caring in partnership with United Way, an event in which volunteers from local engineering firms work together to complete a large-scale community project in a single day, with all costs of materials and labour covered by the firms themselves.

It was an economically challenging year for the engineering sector but in a true testament to their generosity and commitment to the community, this was one of their most ambitious projects to date and in fact saw the largest turnout of volunteers in the history of the event.

“That really captures the essence of what the Engineering Day of Caring is,” says Greg Wengreniuk, managing senior principal at Stantec Consulting, who was involved in both the planning and execution of the event. “It’s a group of companies putting aside all of their competitive differences, putting aside all of their daily distractions and focusing on something that just makes them feel good and makes a difference in our community.”

It was a fitting way to mark the 10-year anniversary of the event, which started in 2006 with three companies: Colt Engineering, CoSyn Technology and

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Stantec Consulting. Over the decade it has involved a total of 21 engineering firms, 6,500 volunteer hours and raised $11.6 million for United Way. At the 2015 event, engineering companies built and installed a playground to provide a safe place for the residents’ children to play, rebuilt a wooden deck, installed picnic tables to provide a space for community functions, and built cold frame boxes and raised garden boxes so residents could start to grow some of their own food.

Residents got directly involved in the project as well, which included hosting a barbecue for the volunteers. As a result, explains Wengreniuk, residents “felt like they were contributing to the project in a direct way and we were able to interact with the people who were receiving the benefit of our efforts and able to make that very strong personal connection and see that impact first-hand.” Residents also approached local businesses to help donate some of the supplies, which gave them an opportunity to connect with their community, he adds.

“It was an amazing day,” says Wengreniuk. “The impact of seeing a project built, of physically being there and being just one

part of the group that turns it into reality is incredibly satisfying and motivating.”

It was clear that residents appreciated the generosity – from the children who had their faces pressed up against the windows as they watched the playground taking shape, to one of the residents who found it “difficult to comprehend … that this group of people were doing something specifically to help him and his fellow residents.”

“It also speaks to us on a personal and an emotional level, being able to help the residents in our community by getting out of our desks and going and having a direct impact on a group of people who appreciate that,” says Wengreniuk.

2015 PARTICIPATING COMPANIES • AECOM, APEGA, Associated Engineering, Bantrel, C-Fer, CoSyn, Enbridge, Fluor, ISL Engineering, Jacobs, JV Driver Projects, Magna IV Engineering, ONEC Engineering, Stantec, Tetra Tech, Thurber Engineering, Williams Engineering, Worley Parsons

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