The Lloydminster Men's Shelter sees a bright future with a newly-hired caseworker.
An excited Kagan Kneen, the shelter's executive director, announced the news in a Facebook video on Sept. 23. Kneen stated this is the first step toward moving unhoused individuals off the street.
“It's something I’m making mandatory. If you stay here, you must work with a caseworker. If you choose not to work with a caseworker, you can only stay for 21 days," said Kneen.
“We just want to see progress. If a client is in active drug addiction, the caseworker can put them into contact with people to help them better themselves. The intent is to have them eventually move into transitional housing. Once in transitional housing, the caseworker will help them find permanent housing.”
Inspiration to hire a caseworker came while visiting shelters from B.C. to Manitoba during his recent 1,200 km-plus charity run.
“After going through the different shelters, one thing I found was very effective was case management,” said Kneen, noting the worker will start work in the next couple of weeks.
Kneen explained shelters with caseworkers were more effective at transitioning clients out of the shelter.
Shelter changes: meals for all
In the announcement, Kneen also noted the shelter would no longer provide meals to those outside the 28 beds available.
He explained the money saved not feeding those outside the 28-man group will pay for a caseworker.
This generated some noise on social media, but Kneen explained there's misinformation at play.
"Changes were made during COVID. Since then, we’ve been paying almost $5,000 a month in food for outside clients. We’re only funded for the 28 men staying inside," he said.
“We’re stopping these services because other agencies can pick that up. We can put that money towards a caseworker who can work with all our inside clients."
The men's shelter will be working with community partners such as The Olive Tree, Residents In Recovery, The Salvation Army, the Lloydminster Native Friendship Centre, and volunteer groups to fill the void.
“We’re going to spread it out and support each other," said The Olive Tree's executive director Becky Schille.
"We'll make sure they continue to be served, while also giving a bit of relief to the shelter. It’s a huge burden to them to bear. They’re in a very small facility and they’re struggling to keep up."
Proposed shelter talk
With an ample amount of chatter on social media, Kneen wanted to clarify a few things about the proposed new men's shelter.
"The intent of the new shelter is to have more tools available," he said. "Having the clean and sober wing to avoid triggering client's habits is important. The big one, however, is the 24-hour washroom."
"All clients, regardless, can use the facility, but they won't be allowed to loiter around the property. We want to give them the opportunity to not have to urinate or defecate on public property."
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