Lloydminster commits to mobile shelter

Lloydminster has committed just under $100,000 to a mobile warming shelter following a council motion.

At the Dec. 16 council meeting, a cold weather response plan funding request was made.

The response outlined details of a new warming shelter.

“What’s being proposed is a mobile warming shelter,” said Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers. “To add to that even further, is why is it a mobile warming shelter? Due to the issues that have been experienced at planning and understanding the planning act that we follow for the city to establish a warming shelter, would be likely three months before we could establish a warming shelter at the earliest.” 

If the city wanted to find a building to put a warming shelter in, it would take some time before they could implement the shelter. To set up a more permanent location council would have to find a suitable location and then embark on a lengthy rezoning process..

The mobile warming shelter gives them the option to take it wherever it’s needed.

“It may not be parked, it may be moving throughout the night,” said Aalbers.

Aalbers says there will be rules that must be followed to use the shelter.

“There will be rules around the use of that warming shelter because it’s not a free-for-all as some may assume,” he said.  “Certainly, there would be requirements if you want to use the warming shelter for the night.”

The city has prepared to cover all the items they will need.

“You’ll notice security has been included in that. There’s a driver but we’ve tried to cover off all the possible steps to ensure things are handled as best and appropriately as we can to serve both the clients that need the service and the general community.”

The goal is to administer this initiative in partnership with a local group.

The city is committing $99,950 to this project. Of that, $54,000 is going to the vehicle rental, $13,500 for a driver, $12,150 for security, $3,300 for cleaning, $15,000 for agency support and $2,000 for incidentals. Administration confirmed this amount would sustain the project for 45 days. 

The City of Lloydminster is looking to work with various branches of government on this issue.

“We’re left with working with Saskatchewan and Canada and hopefully between those two levels of government, we’ll see some support,” said Aalbers.

At this time, city administration has reached out to both provinces and the federal government regarding funding opportunities but there is currently no confirmation of funding to support this plan.

Aalbers says the issue of homelessness is not new but is being augmented by migration from other cities. 

“The challenge I’ve heard from local community leaders is they don’t have an unhoused population because they tend to end up in Lloydminster,” he said.

He says people may end up here because of the facilities and services available to them here in Lloyd.

“So it’s not necessarily from city to city, but it’s seeing that our local communities may not have an unhoused population because they’ve made their way to Lloydminster. Oh, there is the men’s shelter, there’s interval home, there’s other facilities,” said Aalbers.

The most recent Point-in-Time count indicated at least 60 unsheltered individuals living in the community.

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