Getting vulnerable people married a community effort, says PEI housing minister

A recent trip to Calgary has inspired PEI’s housing ministry to think differently about getting vulnerable populations out of homelessness.

Rob Lantz, PEI’s housing, land and communities minister, was in the Alberta city visiting five separate agencies that offer services to vulnerable people, including the country’s largest emergency shelter.

He saw a collaborative approach between different service providers in Calgary — one he hopes PEI can strive for, he said

“They share information, they meet on a regular basis, they refer clients to each other,” Lantz told host Mitch Cormier on Island Morning.

“No one agency can be everything to serve this type of population and that’s the direction I see us moving.”

In late July, the provincial government applied to Charlottetown’s city council to extend its permit to operate the emergency shelter and outreach center on Park Street beyond spring 2024.

Lantz says one of the missing pieces in the PEI system is being able to get people onto a pathway to housing. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Lantz wouldn’t say how long the province would like to keep those services on Park Street, but he said his long-term vision is that services be spread more evenly around the city.

He said since moving the shelter and outreach center to Park Street from Euston Street, there have been fewer issues with the surrounding community.

Lantz’s trip to Calgary was the latest in a series of visits to see how other parts of the country are trying to help people experiencing homelessness, including Ottawa, Halifax, and New Brunswick.

“It’s going to take a lot of learning, a lot of evolution of the services we provide here,” Lantz said.

“It’s relatively new to us. So we’re starting from scratch in many cases.”

The province has applied to extend its permit for the Charlottetown Outreach Center and emergency shelter on Park Street. (Tony Davis/CBC)

One of the agencies Lantz visited was the Calgary Drop-in Centre, which offers the largest emergency shelter in Canada with just over 1,000 beds.

The center’s focus is getting clients into permanent housing, said CEO Sandra Clarkson.

“A real key to that is relationship and compassion,” said Clarkson, in an interview with Island Morning host Laura Chapin.

“To really try to get to the root of the issues — which often you don’t know with some of those more complex individuals until after you’ve really been able to build a strong rapport and connection.”

She said the center works with a network of private landlords to find homes for their clients, and despite assumptions, the majority of people in the house are able to live independently.

PEI’s missing piece

For Lantz, the ability to refer shelter clients to those who can connect them to housing is one of the missing pieces in PEI’s system.

He said the province has hired another Calgary expert, Islander Carlene Donnelly, to help design a system of care for vulnerable people with complex needs on PEI

Donnelly — who hosted the minister while he was in Calgary — is the CEO and Executive Director of CUPS, which offers an array of services to Calgary’s vulnerable populations.

Sandra Clarkson is the CEO of the Calgary Drop-In Centre, which operates the largest shelter in the country. (Submitted by Sandra Clarkson)

Lantz said his department, alongside Donnelly, has begun conversations with its community partners and agencies on how to coordinate services on PEI

“The whole community needs to confront this problem together or we’re not going to make any progress,” he said.

Clarkson echoed that approach. She said homelessness is a community issue, and often shelters or service providers get unfairly blamed.

“But really, what we have is an addiction crisis, a mental health crisis, a housing crisis, an affordability crisis, a toxic drug supply crisis,” Clarkson said.

“Those are all of the contributing factors to someone’s experience of being homeless.”

Homelessness has been a growing issue beyond PEI’s capital as well, and Lantz said the Summerside emergency shelter should be open sometime in October.