Lethbridge City Council stays the course on outreach funding model, May 10, 2022 (Photo: LNN)

By Drew Stremick

City Council stays the course on outreach funding model

May 11, 2022 | 3:31 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB — City Council has voted down a motion to approve a one-time allocation of $80,000 to evaluate the Outreach Support Services Initiative (OSSI).

The OSSI is a provincial program run through Alberta Human Services that provides the City of Lethbridge with funding to assist homeless individuals to obtain housing and provide the support services and referrals required to maintain long-term housing.

During the City Council vote on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, only Mayor Blaine Hyggen and Deputy Mayor Jenn Schmidt-Rempel voted in favour of the recommendation, with both saying Lethbridge should be looking to make its system more closely resemble that of Medicine Hat.

Schmidt-Rempel says the outreach model in Medicine Hat is not operated by the city, and it’s much more efficient.

“It’s operated by a completely separate service provider that has a seamless model that runs right from intake through to exit of that program,” she said. “So, they help people find appropriate housing right from the get go, help them work through any issues. Any accommodations, any financial assistance, any of those sorts of things that they need.”

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Schmidt-Rempel continued saying the Medicine Hat model also doesn’t pass individuals off to other organizations. They stay in the program until they’re completely through the system.

“They work through them right from the start through the end without passing them on to other service providers. They bring those other service providers in, meet those people where they’re at, and help them move seamlessly through the system,” she said.

Because of that, Schmidt-Rempel says now is a good time to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

“We’re at an ideal position, two years in, to take a look at what that looks like right now and determine whether we’re moving down the right path or whether it’s maybe time to shift gears,” she said.

Although the motion didn’t pass, Schmidt-Rempel is confident the city can continue to serve Lethbridge’s more vulnerable population.

“We do know that our administration will still work hard to make sure that our vulnerable populations needs are being met and they’re still going to be working hard to be tweaking that system,” said Schmidt-Rempel.

Councillor Jeff Carlson, Rajko Dodic, and Mark Campbell voted against the motion for that reason. All three agreed that it’s too soon to be throwing a significant amount of taxpayers money toward changing the program, when it’s only been around for just a few years.

Council expects that as the program continues, it will have to make adjustments so it can continue to be efficient with the funding it receives, and ensure those in Lethbridge experiencing homelessness don’t fall through the cracks.