A city councillor says communities surrounding Edmonton need to do more to support their vulnerable populations while shelters in the province’s capital are overwhelmed. “What the region has done is essentially taken a ‘if we don’t build, they can’t come here’ approach,” said Ward papastew Coun. Michael Janz in a recent interview. “By not providing any supports in the region and sending people into Edmonton, they’ve concentrated hardship in downtown and Chinatown. “That’s not fair to Edmonton taxpayers, that’s not fair to Edmonton businesses, that’s not fair for anybody.” The second-term councillor isn’t just concerned about homeless shelters, but also organizations that provide services to youths, victims of domestic violence, and more. Janz pointed to a youth transitional housing centre proposed in St. Albert in March that received public pushback from neighbours. The project eventually fizzled out. “They’re not helping their own residents. They’re shipping more people into Edmonton,” he said. “This undermines everything.” St. Albert Mayor Scott Olivieri was frustrated by Janz’s words. “The issue of homelessness and the social supports needed is what is important here,” Olivieri told CTV News Edmonton Wednesday. “To deflect or to look to the surrounding communities as being a significant contributor and a reason for the stress Edmonton is under, I find significantly challenging.” A memo to city council from January broke down shelter capacity in the capital region, excluding Edmonton, and found there were only 30 temporary overnight emergency shelter spaces provided by the city of Spruce Grove and only during extreme weather events. Two out of the 12 surrounding municipalities, Morinville and Strathcona County, offer 70 around-the-clock dedicated emergency shelter beds across two locations for people fleeing domestic violence. The memo said St. Albert provides two dedicated day spaces within its food bank. “We are doing an excellent job when it comes to what our needs are here in the community,” said Olivieri, adding that the city meets all of the province’s Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) requirements. “Recognizing that the province, under its mandate, when it comes to homelessness, has identified seven municipalities to address the larger issue at hand, and we’re very fortunate to have regional partners in close proximity that can assist.” A statement from the ministry of mental health and addiction said the province is happy to work with municipalities interested in adding shelter spaces with its $227 million of funding to combat homelessness across Alberta. “But it is up to municipalities to appropriately zone locations to add these spaces,” said the ministry. The metropolitan population of Edmonton including surrounding areas like St. Albert, Spruce Grove and Sherwood Park currently hovers just below 1.5 million people. The city population sits at just over one million residents. Edmonton’s homeless population is estimated to be at about 5,000. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson and Nahreman Issa
