Category: **Resources: ESPC Documents:

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By Amanda Labonte 

In order to put an end to homelessness, those who are unhoused need the necessary support to transition away from being unsheltered to finding a safe and stable place to call home. The Bissell Centre has a spectrum of services that aim to provide housing and the necessary wraparound support to those who are in need. The Housing Outreach Team at Bissell Centre is one form of housing support offered by Bissell Centre. Other housing programs offered include Homeless to Homes and Community Bridge. Candace Noble, Director of Housing and Outreach with Bissell Centre, shared more about the work being done.  

How does your organization as well as the people you serve define homelessness or houselessness? 

In terms of the definition of houselessness, it can vary by program but because we’re deeply rooted in the Housing First Program, we have started using the word houseless, so that’s the preferred term at Bissell Centre right now. It’s probably most widely accepted at Bissell Centre that a person that’s houseless would not have their name on a legal document entitling them to a place, such as not having their name on a lease agreement. 

I think it’s really individualized in terms of how people see their situations so I think we would categorize somebody that’s couch surfing as being houseless, but they might not in their specific circumstance. It’s very individualized how folks would define their own situation.  

Could you give a brief overview of what the Housing Outreach Team does?  

Our Outreach Housing Team in its current form has six housing outreach workers. The outreach workers provide housing first services so they’re interacting with community members that have been chronically or episodically experiencing homelessness.  

They are housing folks that often have co-morbidities, in the form of untreated mental health diagnoses or substance use disorder. They would help them find independent market housing and set them up with furniture and utilities. The team helps with startup groceries [ie: pantry staples and first month’s groceries] and then they refer folks out to a housing first case management team that would provide them with wraparound support for a year at least. 

There is an addition to the Outreach Housing Team called Diversion. At Bissell Centre, we refer to that as a diversion from chronic homelessness. It means diverting folks from requiring that intensive support of the housing first program.  

Their goal is to meet anyone in the community that has a housing need and support them with whatever that need is. It’s a really individualized program and started initially filling gaps in the community as it existed in terms of housing services. We continue to do housing workshops, our staff will go to places like WIN House and provide housing services to individuals staying there, helping them to move out. Edmonton Public Library is a big partner for us in terms of providing our diversion services. There’s lots of diversity in the need that comes to those workshops, for example, we’ll get folks that are coming with landlord issues for mediation or conflict resolution, or we’ll get people that are facing eviction due to arrears or utility debt.  

What are some barriers people experience when they’re trying to obtain housing?  

Because we work with folks across the entire spectrum of needing housing it’s varied. We’re working with folks that are sleeping outside and trying to move those folks inside to shelter or temporary housing and the reality of it is that our shelter system is not exhaustive. A barrier for folks sleeping outside is consistent contact and their daily fight for survival. Trying to maintain their lives, and their basic needs on a daily basis. It’s hard to think forward when you’re so caught up in having to survive that day.  

Documentation is a huge piece. Barriers to identification, landlord references, income, those things are huge. Our team tries to help with all of those things. For example, in order to get Alberta Supports right now, you really need to have a phone in order to have an application be approved. 

Our community has really struggled to implement enough permanent supportive housing. We’ve committed to obtaining a certain number of 500 units I believe, but we’ve encountered lots of barriers whether that’s funding from different levels of government or land use. There’s a large portion of people in our community that are needing permanent support and we don’t have the facilities right now to be able to provide them with that level of care.  

How might having an untreated mental health diagnosis or substance use disorder become a barrier to accessing housing?  

There’s a lot of intersectionality between mental health and substance use and I don’t think that there’s a lot of resources available in our community to serve where those overlap. So, I don’t think it’s as huge a barrier in terms of programs getting folks into housing, but it makes housing retention a challenge. There are really big challenges in terms of finding appropriate services and levels of care for people. As there is with any social issue. It’s hard determining whose responsibility it is. Is this a healthcare, social disorder, or community agency issue? Whose responsibility is it to serve this demographic and what resources do you have to make it happen? We really struggle with that in terms of housing retention.  

Housing First is an incredible program and it has the ability to meet people where they’re at and move them into housing without requiring any levels of compliance, really having a person-centered delivery model. But that person still has to exist in a community and has to live in a market housing setting. Often, we don’t have the resources to provide them with the support they need for that to go well. 

How can we shift the conversation to create more inclusive spaces both for folks who are moved into housing but also for those that are still experiencing being unhoused?  

Part of the stigma comes from concentration. If you have 100 people that are experiencing the same barriers and you put them all into a small area together that is going to exacerbate issues. The affordable apartments and the services are downtown, so we concentrate folks downtown. The big thing that we need to do to create inclusion in our broader communities is just to let people know that folks experiencing challenges are already existing in their community. The reason that you don’t see them is because they’re not hanging out together.  

We [society] don’t create a lot of relationships. I think the biggest piece to inclusion is looking at ways that folks that are integrating into communities can experience reciprocity. I don’t think belonging really happens until you feel like you’ve had the chance to contribute something or feel needed in some way in that relationship.  

Are there things that the broader community can do to help support folks that are either experiencing homelessness or that are recently housed?  

There’s lots that every individual can do in their everyday life towards reconciliation. That’s a huge part of this work, specifically given the disproportionate number of folks that are Indigenous and experience issues related to poverty and homelessness. My biggest recommendation to anybody: be a better neighbour or a better community member in general. Know that history, read those recommendations, and figure out how you can implement even one of them in your daily life, your daily interactions. 

Everybody actually does have something to offer. It doesn’t have to be monetary or anything that seems outrageous, but if you’re open to it everybody does have something to offer in terms of reciprocity. Being open and recognizing the humanness of everybody is so important.  

What is one thing you really want people to take away from the work that’s being done?  

Housing is a right. Having a right doesn’t mean that everybody is given the same thing, equality is not equity, and some people need a little bit more resources and support to get to the same place as somebody else.  

Folks can’t begin to be on a journey toward self-actualization where they can reach their full potential and contribute their full selves to their family and their community without having their basic needs met. A living wage and a safe and adequate place to live for example. It’s pretty tragic that we still haven’t gotten there where we can provide that level of equity in our communities. We often look at people that ‘don’t have’ as being at fault for that in some way, but it’s a collective responsibility. We have a responsibility in order to provide those basic levels of care for folks.  

If you would like to learn more about Bissell Centre check out their website. (bissellcentre.org) 

Note: This is an excerpt from our September 2022 Community Matters, you can read the full publication here

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Amanda Labonte is a registered social worker and is Edmonton Social Planning Council’s Project Coordinator: Research Services and Capacity Building AND Volunteer Coordinator 

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By Amanda Labonte and Jenna Robinson

Karen Mottershead is the Executive Director of the Terra Centre, a non-profit organization that helps pregnant and parenting teens with a broad range of supports to be successful parents. She discussed some of the work that Terra Centre does and emphasized the importance of housing with us. The Terra Centre can impact the lives of both the parent and child – sometimes in large ways, sometimes in small ways. Mottershead shared how some alumni talk about ‘coming home’ – seeing Terra Centre as a place of safety and security even after they leave. There is a lot of pride and a sense of accomplishment for many of the young adults who graduate, in some cases they are the first members of their family to graduate high school.  

Historically the focus for Terra Centre has been educational attainment by helping moms primarily with completing their high school education. (1) Today, Terra Centre has grown and offers far more resources and support, providing evidence that they understand how various challenges can and do intersect. Mottershead explained how the benefit and value of finishing school are immense but require a lot of support and resources and that becomes especially challenging when a person does not have housing and even more challenging when a young person becomes a parent. The immediacy of housing intersects with educational attainment for youth.  

When working with young adults, it is important to remember that developmentally, they live in the present and often do not plan long term. This can lead to school not being deemed a high priority. She explained that it is important for youth to have immediate housing access because when they are ready to return to school, they can register immediately and not have to worry about where they are going to live. Terra Centre has a very deep understanding of the stage of development that young parents are at, and can offer a meaningful level of support to meet the unique needs, and understand what kinds of approaches work best to support young families. 

Terra Centre uses wrap-around supports, when a young adult receives housing, they also get a support worker. When a student enters the Braemar school, a school just for parenting teens, Terra Centre has ensured that there are multiple services at the school to meet their needs. This includes an onsite daycare, immunization nurses that come in, support workers and more.  

There are complicated challenges for youth trying to obtain housing, particularly if a young adult is under the age of 18. Barriers for youth include legal aspects of signing off on lease agreements, getting utilities hooked up, and negative perceptions of young people by landlords. There continues to be a community stigma around young people being irresponsible, having wild parties or that they are ‘going to trash the place.’ 

Mottershead stated this has not been the experience of Terra Centre staff working with young people, and instead is quite the opposite; these parents care deeply and want stability for their children, much like the rest of the population. Terra Centre staff spend a substantial amount of time around advocacy working to acquire housing that is safe, stable and in a positive community.  

Many young parents have experienced a lot of trauma in their lives. They see personal and emotional safety as a primary need that is very difficult to acquire. Many of the young people grew up living in subsidized housing, communities that exist in poverty, low-income housing, and experienced unsafe living environments. When young parents become pregnant, they want a different experience for their child. 

One partnership in particular is crucial to what Terra Centre does. The Brentwood Partnership Housing Program “helps families build skills, resiliency and complete their education in a safe, stable and affordable environment. As the families move through the phases of our program they transition from needing help to a place of self-sufficiency. It’s our goal to see them model those skills to the children they are raising helping us to break the poverty cycle for 2 generations in one program.” (2) There are about 27 families currently living at the housing complex, with many staying there for over two years, and this can be their forever home because they do not have to leave at any given time.  

As we discussed the stigma and community perceptions of young people who have children and how this creates challenges and barriers, Mottershead stated that the stigma for young dads is often deeper than young moms. There are societal perceptions that young dads are ‘dead beat dads, don’t want to be involved, or walked away from their child(ren).’ Young dads are an important part of the story, and they have an important role to play in the life of their children. The role of Terra Centre is to help support parental relationships for the benefit of the child, even if the parents are no longer in a partnered relationship. Terra Centre has a unique approach in that they have outreach workers who work specifically with young dads. (1) 

Karen Mottershead shared a photovoice research project undertaken by Terra Centre through the Successful Famililes Housing Program. During the project, every week families had a different theme, they would take pictures and explain how that picture related to the theme. Karen shared a story of how one week the theme was safety and one of the participants submitted a picture of a door.  

The comment from the parent was that this is the first time they could shut a door and feel safe. It was fundamental to have a door. 

Community sensitivity is needed to reduce the negative perceptions young parents experience because parenting at any age is hard. Unhelpful and hurtful comments and gestures by the public to young parents are painful and negatively impacts their sense of self in terms of their capacity, who they are, and how they’ll move forward in life. Parents are doing the best they can and a gentle word would be nice and acknowledge the youth is a parent, and everyone is trying to do their best job. Young people want to feel validated in their roles and these small gestures of support could make such a difference. 

Mottershead expressed her hope that members in the community would start seeing the potential and promise of young parents as opposed to seeing a negative or deficit. That can be done through kind words, supporting Terra Centre, or different organizations. 

To learn more:  

www.terracentre.ca 

Note: This is an excerpt from our September 2022 Community Matters, you can read the full publication here

Did You Enjoy this Article? Please provide feedback here

Amanda Labonte is ESPC Project coordinator for research services and capacity building, as well as ESPC volunteer coordinator.  

Jenna Robinson was the Research Assistant with ESPC in the summer of 2022 and has since moved to Calgary to complete her Master of Arts in Sociology at the University of Calgary. Her research interests include criminalized and victimized women, intersectionality, and anti-racism. 

References: 

1. Terra Centre Centre. (n.d.). What is Terra Centre? https://Terra Centrecentre.ca/what-is-Terra Centre/ 
2. Brentwood Community Development Group. (2022). Program information. https://brentwoodgroup.ca/about/program-information/ 

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By Sydney Sheloff

What is energy poverty?  

Energy poverty is the experience of households struggling to meet their energy needs, including heating and cooling their homes, and powering lights and appliances (Empower Me, 2018; CUSP, n.d.). The average Canadian spends less than 3% of their after-tax income on home heating and electricity. According to Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners (CUSP) households that spend double this (6%) are considered to be living in energy poverty (n.d.).    

50,765 Edmonton households – that’s 16% – live in energy poverty. This varies across the city, 36% of residents in the Alberta Avenue neighbourhood experience energy poverty, whereas only 8.3% in Ellerslie do (CUSP, n.d.). A variety of factors influence this. Households in Alberta Avenue have lower incomes than those in Ellerslie ($60K vs. $104K). In addition, houses in Alberta Avenue are older (86% were built before 1991) and more likely to need major repairs (17% vs. 0%). 

People who own homes are more likely to live in energy poverty (20-30%) than those who rent (14%). This is likely because a) those who rent often have energy costs included in their rent, and b) renters tend to live in smaller apartments and row housing that requires less energy to heat. However, renters whose utilities are not included in their rent are most likely to experience energy poverty. People that live in single detached housing also have a much higher likelihood of experiencing energy poverty (Empower Me, 2018). 

Energy poverty is not isolated to people living with low income. In fact, two-thirds of those living in energy poverty are not considered to be living in low income. People with higher incomes are more likely to be living in larger homes that cost more to heat (Empower Me, 2018). At the same time, lower-income families are more likely to be in homes that, while smaller, have poor insulation and are therefore hard to heat, as well often live in homes in major need of repairs (ODPHP, 2020). While low-income families may be less likely to experience energy poverty, they feel its effects much more harshly. 

What are the effects of energy poverty?  

Living in energy poverty has many negative consequences on the lives of families. Families may choose to keep their homes at lower temperatures, which is uncomfortable. Living in cold homes also has negative health consequences, such as higher rates of respiratory problems and high susceptibility to illness for children (EmPower Me, 2018). Families may have to sacrifice other important needs, such as groceries and medication, to pay for energy (CUSP, n.d.).  

One of the most extreme consequences of energy poverty is having one’s power shut off. This has incredibly negative impacts on people’s health and quality of life. Losing refrigeration means food and medications can go bad and makes it so that families cannot cook food. A lack of hot water makes hygiene difficult (Cummings, 2022; CUSP, n.d.). As essential services, work, and school move online, not being able to power electronics or Wi-Fi routers makes these things inaccessible. Children can fall behind in school, and adults risk losing their jobs.  

Living in energy poverty is incredibly stressful. Families need to make tough choices about what they power and when, and live under the fear that they could lose all power if they make a wrong choice. Above all, it greatly impacts a family’s sense of dignity.  

What is happening in Edmonton?  

The Government of Alberta has rules in place to ensure households do not lose heat in the cold winter months. Between October 15 and April 15, limiters are installed instead of a full disconnection (Cummings, 2022). These limiters allow families to have enough energy to power their necessities – such as their furnace, fridge, a few lights, and one 

small appliance. Anecdotes show that families are forced to stop using their ovens, stoves, washers, and dryers as these appliances use too much power. If people go over the ‘limit’ their power will suddenly go off, and they have to either manually restart their meter, or if they have a meter with remote capabilities, wait 15-30 minutes for it to automatically restart (Edwardson, 2022).  

Once summer hits, if these families have not caught up on bills, they risk losing power altogether. This has been the reality for 200 Edmontonians in 2022 (Cummings, 2022). As described above, losing power greatly affects these families’ ability to meet their basic needs – storing and cooking food, washing clothes, taking care of personal hygiene – and sacrifices their dignity. 

EPCOR claims that disconnection is always a “last resort” after they have exhausted all other attempts at resolving balances (Cummings, 2022). From a human rights approach, is it ever okay to take away someone’s power? The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 7 calls for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy. Energy is essential for people’s physical and mental well-being, and as such, can be considered a fundamental human need (Shyu, 2021). Energy is currently unaffordable for many Edmontonians, this is a breach of their rights. 

What can be done?  

There are programs in place to address energy poverty, but these are not sufficient. The province of Alberta promised automatic $50 electricity rebates, but in the face of a rising cost of living, this barely makes a dent in families’ monthly budgets, let alone allows them to pay off debts (Cummings, 2022). Upgrades to make homes more energy efficient are a great way to reduce energy costs. However, if families cannot afford their monthly bills, it is unlikely they can afford home upgrades. Programs such as Empower Me offer home upgrades to help lower energy costs, but these are geared to people who own their homes and are out of reach for many renters and low-income families.  

We need to instate policies to ensure all people living in Canada have access to their basic energy needs. In South Africa, vulnerable households have access to 50kWh per month as Free Basic Electrification (Shyu, 2021). Governments in Canada could instate a similar system to ensure all families can power their essential needs. Investing in renewable energy sources would make energy more affordable. Overall, governments in Canada, and Edmonton specifically, need to reconceptualize energy as a fundamental human need and put policies in place to ensure everyone has access. 

Note: This is an excerpt from our September 2022 Community Matters, you can read the full publication here

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Sources 

Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners (n.d.). The many faces of energy poverty in Canada. https://energypoverty.ca/  

CUSP. (n.d.). Energy poverty and equity explorers.  https://energypoverty.ca/mappingtool/  

Cummings, M. (2022, July 8). Epcor has shut off power for 200 Edmonton customers since winter disconnection ban ended. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/epcor-has-shut-off-power-200-edmonton-customers-1.6514114?utm_source=Taproot+Edmonton&utm_campaign=fd3dec5df4-TAPROOTYEG_PULSE_2022_07_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ef1adf0932-fd3dec5df4-421442804&mc_cid=fd3dec5df4&mc_eid=02b4567cf4  

EmPower me (2018). Energy Poverty in Alberta: 2018. https://www.empowermeprogram.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Energy-Poverty-in-Alberta.pdf  

Edwardson, Lucie (March 21, 2022). ‘I don’t wish it on my worst enemy’: Calgarians detail life with an electricity load limiter. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/utility-bills-electricity-limiters-calgary-1.6388949  

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) (2020). Quality of Housing. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-health/interventions-resources/quality-of-housing  

Shyu, Chian-Woei. (2021).  A framework for ‘right to energy’ to meet UN SDG7: Policy implications to meet basic human energy needs, eradicate energy poverty, enhance energy justice, and uphold energy democracy. Energy Research and Social Science 79. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629621002929  

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