1. Who lives in supportive housing?
Supportive housing is for people who have experienced homelessness and need help to maintain housing and require 24-7 support. Individuals in supportive housing report improvements in access to employment, income, education, addiction issues, mental health, and life-skills.
Everyone’s path into homelessness is different. For some people, it’s a change in life circumstance like job loss or illness. Others may have mental or physical health challenges, sometimes compounded by trauma and addictions, that make maintaining independent living a challenge. Others may have aged out of the child welfare system with nowhere to go.
For many people who have experienced homelessness, housing is not a destination but a route to regaining a sense of purpose and connection.
2. How are tenants selected?
Tenants are referred to a supportive housing site based on their support requirements and what the specific site offers in terms of supports and programming. Tenant choice is also a determining factor in their housing placement.
The referral process is a collaborative placement process with the HUB Table which consists of service providers, shelters and outreach teams. Three assessment tools used to assess tenant eligibility include a Service Prioritization Decision Assessment Tool, Biopsychosocial Assessment and a Risk Assessment. This process ensures that the supports on-site match the needs of the tenants.
3. What support services will be provided?
Programs and supportive services such as:
- 24/7 crisis services
- Independent living skills
- Medication assistance
- Mental health services
- Medical services, including home care services, continuing care, disability services
- Cultural, ceremonial, and spiritual practices
- Psycho-social, recreation or support group activities
- Financial goal planning
All programs and support services are based on individual case plan.
4. Why does Grande Prairie need supportive housing?
Grande Prairie is making progress toward ending chronic homelessness but there are still around 210 people with no permanent home. This does not include the new faces identified by street outreach teams that are sleeping rough or new to the City.
Individuals will face different kind of challenges that lead to housing instability, but ending chronic homelessness is possible. It simply means that any experience of homelessness is rare, brief and doesn't repeat. The City and its community partners are working to create a homeless-serving system and a supply of appropriate housing that allows us to quickly connect people with the support and housing they need.
5. Is this a safe consumption site?
No. A safe consumption site is typically available to the general public and is a service that is located near Wapiti House Shelter. The Coordinated Care Campus will not be providing support of this nature to the general public. However, a recovery oriented system of care and addiction management supports will be provided to tenants.
6. What was the decision-making process for the Coordinated Care Campus?
The Coordinated Care Campus is a Community Supportive Housing Project which is a critical type of housing outlined in The Grande Prairie Five Year Plan to End Homelessness (2015-2019), Affordable Housing Action Plan (2021-2022), and Homelessness Strategy (2021-2023).
Discussion and decision-making on the Coordinated Care Campus project occurred at the Council and Committee meetings. Please click this link to access the agenda, minutes, and webcast recording page.
A Request for Expression of Interest was issued March 26, 2021 with a submission deadline of April 12, 2021, resulting in 0 submissions
The Rezoning process was initiated May 14, 2021 and concluded June 28.
Please note, Interim Mayor Jackie Clayton voluntarily recused herself from all Council discussion, deliberation and decision-making on the Coordinated Care Campus Project due to a perceived conflict of interest.