A new foundation is being formed to tackle homelessness in Red Deer.
The foundation is an offshoot of homelessness work led by Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce, which created a homelessness task force that delivered a major report in April. The primary recommendation of the report was to create a not-for-profit society led by a board comprised of business leaders, Indigenous partners, City of Red Deer, and other community representatives.
This week an application will be made for society status and once formed a temporary board will be put in place to get the foundation off the ground. Board members will be pulled from the chamber's homelessness transition team.
Later this month, financial and operation plans will be created and by the end of the month a call is expected to go out for permanent board members. The foundation is expected to be up and running by the end of January and the new board will take over by the end of February.
After the homelessness report came out, the transition team spent months getting feedback from the community on how best to address the problem. A foundation was pinpointed as a way to insulate homelessness initiatives from political influence, while reducing red tape and creating a flexible organization able to make decisions more quickly.
The foundation would be able to attract philanthropic funds not available to government agencies and develop a land bank to re-purpose unused properties and embrace entrepreneurial ideas for addressing homelessness issues while encouraging community involvement and collaboration.
As part of its continuing work the transition team in partnership with the Rotary Club of Red Deer is hosting a presentation by Dale Shattenkirk called "Provocative Healthcare Supports for the Homeless" on Nov. 18. The chamber says there are 30 seats available to members of the homelessness support network.
Shattenkirk is a consultant with The Poirier Group and is a health-care expert who has helped three Canadian provinces transform their health-care systems.
