Human Resources committee  When it comes to COVID-19, if we look at the pandemic and the bottleneck it has created in accessing so many services, the impact would be exponential for any population as disproportionately impacted by poverty and homelessness as our indigenous community. I don't want to overs

Human Resources committee  I would just comment in general that it's very important. Data, information, everything we know, prepares us better for solutions. It's important in sharing with the rest of Canadians and recognizing that the pandemic has really hit some of our most marginalized community members

Human Resources committee  The homeless community in Edmonton certainly has a dramatic overrepresentation of indigenous members, but we have looked at the relationships with nations, to try to support those nations and support their members where possible. That's one of the strategies that the COVID-19 res

Human Resources committee  We definitely need more product that is dedicated in perpetuity to the community, which is our social housing and community housing stock. We absolutely do. We also need processes to ensure that people access that and that they are prioritized. Honestly a fear that I think many h

Human Resources committee  That's an interesting question, because I have worked closely with the department on that through the data committee that we participate in. There will be a data gap, but we also have communities that have been working and implementing their outreach through a registry and a by

Human Resources committee  Certainly I think we need a serious look at an emergency response fund that some provinces have had, as well as an expansion of accessibility to what exists now. Sometimes the thresholds for accessing emergency dollars are very high. We actually spend a lot of time, money and res

Human Resources committee  To clarify, the 600 I cited are actually housed in apartments and are being provided support. They're in self-contained units. Housing First relies largely on the market housing that's available, and working with landlords. They do pay rent, so they're under the RTA. The Coliseu

Human Resources committee  In terms of the individuals we are currently seeing, such as the increased number of people living rough, they are many of our most vulnerable individuals. They have often complex needs. They are requiring a high level of support. As our most vulnerable community members, they ha

Human Resources committee  You know, the national housing strategy has some really important moves forward. It was a significant step forward for our country to have such a coordinated strategy that was absent for so long. I would really underscore that we need to do things faster, providing housing in a w

Human Resources committee  We have supported, certainly within the Canadian Alliance strategy, the value of a livable income. I know there's a lot of analysis and there are more discussions to be had about that. The pandemic really is a convergence of different groups and different levels of need. As much

Human Resources committee  I think when we talk about organizations, there are certainly different types of organizations that fulfill different roles in both responding to a crisis and maintaining a focus on long-term solutions. While both are needed, if they're not coordinated, we just continue to do wha

Human Resources committee  In Edmonton, we simply do not have the square footage to allow for and support a response with the appropriate distancing, should any of our shelters have to close in response to a pandemic. So there is definitely a priority, real-time focus on space, and we need to be able to mo

Human Resources committee  Through Reaching Home, Homeward Trust received about $6.4 million through our entity commitment, as well as indigenous funding of $1.1 million. Those are rounded numbers.

Human Resources committee  No, sorry; that was out of the initial announcement of the $157-million Reaching Home. The other funding for Homeward Trust directly has not as yet been cascaded through the programs that are focused on homelessness in our community.

Human Resources committee  Yes. It certainly has some risk. Good plans and good scenario planning can't happen in a bubble. That's the risk.