City wants your thoughts on homelessness

From City of Red Deer Communications

Help shape Red Deer’s housing and homelessness plan

As part of the Community Housing & Homelessness Integrated Plan, residents are invited to complete a survey to provide their feedback about housing and homelessness in Red Deer.

Driven by a Council Ad Hoc Committee, the overall goal of the Community Housing & Homelessness Integrated Plan (CHHIP) is to develop a strategic and innovative housing plan that will help achieve the community’s housing goals.

“Everyone needs a place to live, and the work we’re doing today with the CHHIP will guide housing andhomelessness planning now and in the future,” said Tricia Hercina, Manager of Social Planning with the City of Red Deer. “This is a community plan, and will focus on the full non-market housing spectrum.”

To ensure the plan is reflective of community needs, all citizens are invited to provide their feedback. A survey is currently available at reddeer.ca/surveys. The survey will be open to the public until July 5, 2019, and should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. In addition to the survey, a series of community conversations will occur. These opportunities will be advertised as they become available.

“We are asking for the community’s help with identifying current housing and homelessness needs within Red Deer, and ideas to address those needs in our communities by completing our survey,” saidHercina. “This valuable input will help us ensure this community plan is truly reflective of the community’s needs.”

Click here to go to the survey!

For more information about the CHHIP, please visit: http://www.reddeer.ca/city-government/mayor-and- city-councillors/council-committees/our-committees/community-housing–homelessness-integrated- plan/

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City of Red Deer

Pop-up Spray Parks – City bringing family fun to your neighbourhood this summer

Published on July 6, 2022

City of Red Deer

Pop-up spray parks are back this summer

Pop-up spray parks are gearing up again in Red Deer, set to visit eight neighbourhoods across the city this summer. The first pop up is set for this Thursday, July 7 at Barry Wilson Elementary School.

Families and friends are invited to join Red Deer Emergency Services, Municipal Policing Services and the Red Deer RCMP to beat the heat at pop-up spray parks every Thursday this July and August.

Each spray park will run every Thursday from 6:30 – 8 p.m., visiting neighbourhoods across the city as follows:

Date	Location	Address
July 7	Barry Wilson Elementary School	300 Timothy Drive
July 14	G.H. Dawe School	Holt Street & 59 Avenue
July 21	St. Francis of Assisi School	321 Lindsay Avenue
July 28	Anders Park	Ayers Avenue & Anders Street
August 4	Kentwood Park	Kendrew Drive & Kent Street
August 11	Don Campbell Elementary School	99 Irving Crescent
August 18	Joseph Welsh Elementary School	4401 – 37 Avenue
August 25	Johnstone Park	Jordan Parkway & Jennings Crescent

Events are weather dependant and will be cancelled if weather warnings are in place. The City will provide updates on social media each week if events are in question due to weather.

Information and schedule are available online at www.reddeer.ca/PopUpSprayParks.

For more information, please contact:

Corporate Communications
The City of Red Deer

City of Red Deer

City Council grinding out a solution for the site of a permanent homeless shelter

Published on July 5, 2022

City of Red Deer

Council approves Shelter Site Evaluation Matrix

A site criteria evaluation matrix will help guide the site selection process for the future shelter in Red Deer after being approved by City Council today. During Council meetings held on June 24, 27 and July 4, Council worked through multiple exercises to determine five criteria, 22 sub-criteria and the weighting assigned to each – making up the Shelter Site Evaluation Matrix as follows:

SITE CRITERIA	SUB-CRITERIA	POINTS	PERCENTAGES
Ability to acquire site		20
Cost		40%
Zoning		15%
Timing		40%
General		5%
Adequate size		20
Adequate land size (outside/inside)		30%
Can accommodate purpose built/dignified spaces		20%
Can accommodate on-site/integrated services		30%
Future flexible/expansion opportunity		10%
General		10%
Broad community impact		24
Operational and Budgetary Impacts		17%
Alignment with Community Vision (Strategic Plan/Downtown Vision/Vision 2040)		25%
Impact to City Reputation		13%
Economic Impact		25%
Safety Impacts		17%
General		4%
Impacts to surrounding area		26
Impacts to businesses		23%
Impacts to downtown		19%
Impacts to Parks, Trails and Greenspaces		19%
Proximity to Schools		12%
Impacts to Residential Neighbourhoods		23%
General		4%
Access to services & supports		10
Access to transit and transportation		10%
Distance/proximity to supports/services		20%
Foot Traffic Patterns		20%
Enables delivery of 24/7 integrated service		20%
Enables delivery of basic amenities/services		20%
General		10%

Council approves Shelter Site Evaluation Matrix

In the above matrix, the sub-category identified as general under each criteria represents the remaining points allocated to the overarching site criteria.

“The site criteria evaluation matrix approved today will be utilized by administration and City Council to inform decisions about the future site of an integrated shelter in Red Deer,” said Lisa Perkins, Acting City Manager. “The process of developing this matrix has been all about our commitment to consider what we heard from the public, honouring the voice of the City Council in the development of the matrix and selecting a site for the future integrated shelter.”

Along with the criteria and weighting, Council adopted a resolution outlining conditions upon which City Council developed site criteria for the Shelter Site Evaluation Matrix. Ultimately, the site criteria within the matrix are the right criteria “if” the following are true:

Shelter is for those who need short stay emergency housing. There are other services/facilities along the housing spectrum.
Shelter is one site.
Funding may limit scope.
New services have potential to change outcomes.
The permanent shelter will be a housing focused delivery model [(Per Council resolution Nov – 21) – GOA confirmed Jan 22]
Shelter with wrap around services may not necessarily eliminate the need for those requiring shelter to access external services, to connect with community.
There are innovative alternative delivery/service and systems that need to address the diversity of clients and impact on community.
The shelter will operate 24/7
The shelter will be designed to provide adequate spaces for short time stays that honour the dignity of each person
There is a recognition and advocacy for the ongoing housing (eg. PSH & Affordable Housing) needs.
Council will continue to have discussions with the Provincial Government on future Overdose Prevention Services/Supervised Consumption Services.
A good neighbour policy will be developed.
Community agencies are supportive of an integrated model and willing to work collaboratively towards this.
The shelter would integrate or operate as many related services on site as reasonably possible.

These statements will be utilized to inform City Council’s advocacy position around the integrated shelter going forward.

“While the decision in front of City Council in the immediate future pertains specifically to site, we also know there are many conversations to be had with the Province of Alberta about other aspects of shelter including, but not limited to, shelter design, operations and service delivery,” said Mayor Ken Johnston. “We look forward to continued collaboration with our provincial colleagues as we work in partnership to ensure a safe place for our vulnerable citizens to access required services on their journey to permanent housing, which is beneficial for the whole community.”

In addition to the resolutions about the shelter evaluation matrix criteria, City Council resolved that administration will begin preparing a list of possible sites alongside a commercial realtor with Mayor Johnston and the Deputy Mayor providing Council perspective.

Administration will come back to City Council on July 18 to share an update with City Council about the site selection process.

For more information on the shelter project process, please visit www.reddeer.ca/shelter. Citizens and community partners wanting to receive updates on the shelter project by email can subscribe here.