The City of Red Deer, in partnership with the Red Deer & District Community Foundation, has released its annual Report to the Community: Homelessness & Affordable Housing Initiatives 2012 – 2013.

“We are ending homelessness for many of our community members, but we must remain vigilant,” said Mayor Morris Flewwelling. “Preventing people from becoming homeless is part of our mission, and we must constantly seek out new opportunities to find permanent, stable housing options.”

Details about homelessness and housing options are described in the report, which has a combination of statistics from the previous year and stories that describe real life experiences from people who have been homelessness in Red Deer. The report also shows significant progress in community efforts to end homelessness, with 503 individuals housed or supported in their housing through the Outreach and Support Services Initiative (OSSI) grant and the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) grant. Some of the key successes from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013 include 127 new individuals housed through the OSSI grant from the Province of Alberta; 161 individuals received housing supports through the HPS grant from the Government of Canada; and 35 youth assisted and supported in their move from homelessness to more stable housing options through the HPS grant.

“We’ve come a long way to ensuring appropriate housing and supports are available for the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Kristine Bugayong, chief executive officer for the Red Deer & District Community Foundation. “Local agencies, government and people with lived experience are all working together to break the cycle of homelessness.”

– Fawcett