Alberta is expanding support for Edmonton’s homeless, but advocates in Lloydminster say the community continues to be underserved.
Edmonton’s Navigation and Support Centre has helped more than 7,780 people since opening in January 2024 and staff have made more than 33,700 connections to food, housing, ID and addiction treatment. The hub is moving to a larger facility operated, by Hope Mission and Bissell Centre, to meet growing demand.
“By bringing critical supports and services under one roof, the Navigation and Support Centres have become vital hubs for those experiencing homelessness,” said Minister of Assisted Living and Social Services Jason Nixon.
“Moving Edmonton’s Navigation and Support Centre into a bigger space will allow the centre’s dedicated front-line staff to help even more people access the supports they need.”
The new location offers more privacy and sits near shelters and other services. Clients will continue to access transportation, medical care, Indigenous supports, locked storage, pet care and links to housing.
The homeless situation at home
Last year’s point-in-time count found 246 unhoused individuals in Lloydminster, up from 193 the year before. There is still no permanent warming shelter and not nearly enough beds for the unhoused population. There is also no plan to protect them as colder weather approaches.
Last winter, those in need relied on a 15-seat van as a “mobile warming shelter,” which only ran when temperatures dropped to –30 C or colder. Advocates called it inadequate.
In Edmonton, the province funded approximately 1,700 beds last winter, including some that were available 24 hours a day.
Lloydminster and Vermilion for Equity Foundation co-founder Tigra-Lee Campbell had this to say about the situation in Lloyd this past January.
“Until we have a 24/7 shelter in place, the warming bus is really all we’ve got. But it’s just not enough,” said Campbell. “There needs to be more support. We need something that’s available all the time, especially during these freezing temperatures.”
Read more: ‘No easy solution’ to unhoused issue: Lloyd MLA
Help from the city
Community leaders have long said Lloydminster needs transitional and supportive housing, but projects remain stalled without provincial funding.
Mayor Gerald Aalbers has been advocating for this type of help from Alberta and Saskatchewan for years. The situation frustrates the city because shelters are not something municipal taxes should be funding.
“We often get asked to be the first line of defence, but we have the least amount of resources because our taxes are not aimed at putting up shelters,” said Aalbers on the growing issue last summer.
The city does, however, work with various community organizations to try to ease the situation. Those organizations, as well as the city, continue to advocate for more beds and a place similar to the Navigation and Support Centre.
“We are trying to coordinate with the provincial governments and say, ‘Hey, do you realize we have this issue in our community?'” said Aalbers. “People are sleeping on the street, sleeping on park benches because they don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Alberta’s 2025 budget includes $220 million to combat homelessness. It supports, in part, more than 2,000 shelter spaces in Edmonton, including 150 Indigenous-led spaces.
Advocates in Lloydminster say both provinces need to spread investment beyond major centres.
Read more: Hiring the unhoused: Edmonton’s solution
