The City of Lethbridge provided an update on its encampment response on August 19, 2022 (Photo: LNN)

By Justin Goulet with files from Drew Stremick

City of Lethbridge provides update on encampment response

Aug 19, 2022 | 2:28 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The City of Lethbridge continues to address issues around homeless encampments.

Officials stated that “every day, service providers and community groups are extending outreach and making connections for those at risk, all across our city.”

READ MORE: City of Lethbridge moves to clean-up homeless encampments

The City of Lethbridge added that when a response is needed at encampments, work is coordinated through a number of services and departments.

To date, the Clean Sweep Program (CSP) has responded to 150 calls for service regarding encampments throughout Lethbridge, with about 95% of the smaller encampment calls being successfully resolved. During responses, members of the CSP team work with individuals living in the encampments to determine any items they want to keep or throw away, sometimes over the course of several days.

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Additionally, the City of Lethbridge said since July 2022, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and Outreach Mobile Team (OMT) have been providing ongoing outreach support and service referrals to the vulnerable population, specifically people living in encampments.

Officials also cited the following services as being instrumental in offering help:

• CMHA’s Community LINKS Integrated Coordinated Access program
• CMHA’s Diversion Outreach Team (DOT) for transportation services
• Alpha House – Stabilization Support Outreach
• SAGE Clan
• Indigenous Recovery Coach Program (IRC)
• Alberta Health Services – Addiction and Mental Health Outreach

Other organizations that the City of Lethbridge says have helped include the Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly (AAWEAR), Lethbridge Police Service’s The Watch, MyCityCare, Streets Alive, and Sweetgrass Youth Alliance.

So far, coordinated encampment responses have occurred:

• Along the north side of 2 Avenue North along the Kitchen Centre boulevard near the Stabilization Shelter on:
  • Wednesday, June 1, 2022
  • Wednesday, July 6, 2022
  • Thursday, July 7, 2022
• At the Civic Centre track and surrounding area on:
  • Thursday, July 14, 2022
  • Friday, July 15, 2022
  • Thursday, July 28, 2022
  • Wednesday, August 3, 2022
  • Wednesday, August 10, 2022
• For the week of August 5 to 11, 2022, encampment response outcomes included:
  • Five people were connected with CMHA’s OMT to complete referrals to Permanent Supportive Housing programming.
  • An additional two people were being re-contacted by OMT on August 12, 2022.
  • A total of 341 interactions were completed by CMHA’s OMT and Community LINKS, including intakes, referrals, and rapport-building (including 120 at the Civic Centre area).
  • CMHA’s Diversion Outreach Team transported individuals to services including Chinook Regional Hospital, Streets Alive, the Lethbridge Shelter, private residences, and others.
  • A total of 1,048 needles and 40 pipes were disposed of to date (during coordinated encampment responses since June 1, 2022).
  • August 10, 2022, saw 74 needles and three pipes disposed of from the Civic Centre track area.
  • On August 10, 2022, the Clean Sweep program removed 1,130 kilograms of debris (one full dumpster and one full dump trailer) from the Civic Centre track area.

City of Lethbridge Director of Community Services Mike Fox says as outreach workers, city crews, and LPS continue with the clean-up at Civic Arena Park, the city is already anticipating the next step.

“With now the larger encampment in the Civic area being broken up more or less, I am suspecting that they’ll probably be other smaller ones that develop in different areas,” Fox said. “We’ll continue to do outreach in those areas and to try and get those people into services, and again, the goal is to get people back into housing so they can be more supported. We continue to advocate with the province and the federal government for support services as well.”

READ MORE: City crews back at Civic Centre Park to clean-up encampment

Additionally, on August 9, 2022, City Council gave approval for administration to explore the option of creating an interim Sober Shelter at the former Civic Curling Centre.

Fox says the creation of the interim Sober Shelter would provide the city with another tool to help those in need.

“A Sober Shelter has been recognized as a need in our community for about 40 to 60 people. [It] would be another type of shelter and another service provider in the area that would help the situation,” said Fox. “Transitional housing is just another part of that continuum of care and is a much-needed service too. We saw the benefits when it was in operation previously so we continue to work with the province and the provinces being receptive.”

READ MORE: Lethbridge City Council approves $230,000 to help deal with encampments

READ MORE: City of Lethbridge to explore creating sober shelter at Civic Centre

Community engagement on this possibility will take place in the fall.