Homelessness in Regina is a “rapidly escalating crisis,” according to a report on the latest count of unhoused people in the city.
On Wednesday, the affordable housing organization Namerind released its report on the state of homelessness in Regina. A count done in October found an increase of 255 per cent from 2015 — to 824 from 232.
The report says Regina is facing a rapidly growing crisis caused by intersecting systemic economic and social factors.
“I think the biggest thing for me from the numbers is the fact that it’s an exponential growth, it’s accelerating,” Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski said on Wednesday.
Bachynski said city council would convene in the new year to discuss homelessness. He said the city does have a role to play, but ultimately the city needs to advocate for more money from the province.
“Frankly, I don’t think it’s a policy. I think we need sustainable funding, whatever that looks like and however we can achieve that,” Bachynski said.
“We need sustainable funding to adequately support the services and the programs that effectively get the boots on the ground and can help people directly.”
Bachynski said he’s already had brief conversation with Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block, and that the two planned to collaborate and share ideas.
Point-in-time report
The count of unsheltered increased by 69 per cent from 2021 to 2024, with 63 per cent of people counted living without shelter.
Lisa Workman, a manager at Reaching Home, said there’s hidden homelessness in the city.
“I think it’s just the beginning, I think there’s more homelessness out there that, you know, just a point-in-time count can’t capture,” said Workman.
The report also detailed that 75 per cent of people counted were Indigenous, despite Indigenous people making up only 10 per cent of Regina’s population.
Almost half of the point-in-time respondents reported experiencing intergenerational trauma, with 10 per cent directly impacted by residential school experiences.
Over a quarter of the people polled said they lived with children.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents reported struggling with substance abuse, while 54 per cent reported mental health conditions.
Namerind made several calls to action in the report:
- Indigenous-led approaches to address overrepresentation and systemic barriers.
- Integrated services to to connect mental health, addiction and housing through low-barrier programs.
- Affordable housing.
- Programs to address unique vulnerabilities.
- Enhanced co-ordination on future homelessness counts to get more accurate numbers.
Homelessness rally in Saskatoon
Only a couple hours after Regina released its point-in-time report, advocates at a small rally at Saskatoon city hall called for more homelessness supports.
Saskatoon’s most recent point-in-time count, conducted by volunteers on Oct. 8, identified 1,499 people experiencing homelessness that day. That was nearly three times higher than the 2022 count, which identified 550.
Housing advocate Melissa Naytowhow said she believes Saskatoon’s point-in-time count didn’t even capture the full scope of homelessness in the city.
“I don’t see much change happening. It’s a lot of lip service and it’s not a lot of action,” Naytowhow said at the rally on Wednesday.
Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block attended the gathering. She told CBC there needs to be an easier way for people to help someone experiencing homelessness and spoke about the difficulties connecting people with the resources they need quickly.
