More Need For Shelter As Temperature Drops

Saskatoon homepage - As the temperature drops, the need for emergency shelter increases.

Executive Director of the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership, Shaun Dyck, says there are around 450 homeless people in the city.
Shelters are close to capacity, if not full, especially as it gets colder.
One challenge is rental vacancies are up but that hasn't meant rent has gone down, Dyck says, and add to that, there is an economic slowdown, meaning more unemployment and more people facing hard times.
Shelters like the Lighthouse and the Salvation Army always deal with greater numbers as it gets colder, however SHIP found in their official count last summer that there has actually been a decrease in street homelessness but an increase in the number of homeless children and families.
Dyck feels the decrease is because of positive outcomes with more programming available.
For instance, there is the Housing First program for families and Sanctum, which is an HIV care home.