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City and province take next step in bringing a 24/7 shelter to Red Deer

It will include a detox and counselling services
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A homeless shelter was promised Red Deer to help the city deal with downtown issues. The city and province finally released a signed agreement on what the facility will offer, a year after a $7 million commitment was made for the project by the province. (Advocate file photo).

City, province take next step to bring 24/7 shelter to Red Deer

A next step has finally been taken to outline the kind of 24/7 homeless shelter Red Deer will be getting.

A year after the City of Red Deer was promised $7 million for this project in the 2020 Alberta budget, the provincial government and the city have finally reached an agreement on the scope of a new homeless shelter.

The announcement came Wednesday, on the eve of the 2021 Alberta budget announcement.

A “memorandum of understanding” was signed by the city and the province.

While specifics about the shelter’s location, timing and operational details have not yet been finalized by the provincial government, the agreement states that the facility will be providing emergency shelter beds to help sober up intoxicated people, as well as food preparation, showers, washrooms, laundry and storage facilities.

It will also have counselling, health and detox supports.

The province will act as the project manager, designing the service delivery model and coordinate the building of the shelter.

Red Deer South MLA Jason Stephan said in a released statement that the service delivery design is planned for early March, followed by meetings to determine the building’s design.

“We value the expertise our stakeholders provide, and (the government) is committed to working together to ensure this emergency homeless shelter meets the needs of vulnerable populations and those of local businesses and families in our community,” Stephan stated.



lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

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