LAC LA BICHE - After being in the works for more than a decade, then weeks of delays from an anticipated opening last November, and just as the region experiences freezing temperatures, the new transitional housing facility in Lac La Biche is up and running.
The facility, which opened its doors to clients Tuesday afternoon, is a partnership between Lac La Biche County and the Lakeland Out of the Elements Shelter Society (LOESS). Planning for the new facility has been on-going for years and included input from a local task force made up of community stakeholders, including people who identified as homeless.
The Lakeland Out of the Elements Society currently operates a small, one-room shelter in a residential neighourhood in the Lac La Biche hamlet. The new facility is comprised of five camp-trailers on seven acres of fenced, municipally owned property near the Alexander Hamilton Community Park. It was supposed to open last November, but this opening was delayed by internal utility issues as well as technical issues related to security equipment at the site.
Homelessness issues have been a growing concern in the community for several years. In recent years, and as the plans were ironed out for the new facility, the municipality partnered with the Métis Nation of Alberta to build a temporary emergency camp in the Bonesville subdivision south of Lac La Biche. That camp saw the creation of a dozen small, wooden shacks, electrical service, a fire pit and communal kitchen area. Although built to be a temporary measure, the encampment was in place for three years. The camp will close now that the new transitional housing facility is open, and people using the camp will be relocated to the new facility, along with existing clients of the Out of the Elements Shelter.
Lenora LeMay, the chair of the Lakeland Out of the Elements Shelter Society, said the organization is excited about the move now that the facility improvements have been completed to the inspectors’ satisfaction. She also says the opening day announcement does not mean the complicated process is finished.
“Along with that excitement, we all know that this move and the amalgamation of clients from the current shelter and Bonesville residents at the MNA site, along with our new mandate to offer wrap-around services to support clients into transitional housing, will take time,” she said.
The new facility features several repurposed utility trailers, a large room for multiple sleeping mats, rooms for individual accommodation, a kitchen, programming rooms and a fenced outdoor recreation space. Lac La Biche County provided $500,000 in funding for the transitional housing program, with assistance also coming from the provincial and federal governments.
According to LeMay, clients were busy packing and organizing their possessions in the days leading up to Tuesday’ official opening. She said Lac La Biche County staff assisted with the move earlier in the day, with clients moving in later in the afternoon.
LeMay said LOESS appreciates any assistance the community can provide with this transition. The organization wants to hire new staff, both full and part-time, and casual. In addition, the society is looking for volunteers to sit on the fundraising committee, and to assist with food and clothing drives.
“Going forward, we will continue to work with the 20-plus community service providers who have been meeting with us over the last year to enable those needing services to access them both at the new facility and in the community,” LeMay said. “We are also excited about the progress we've been making in conversations with many residents about non-traditional job opportunities within the County over the next year.”
How many?
LeMay said there is room for 12 clients in the overnight emergency mat program at the new location — the same as there were in the smaller shelter. If people show up and the new shelter is at full capacity, she says alternative arrangements are available
“LOESS finds alternate places, with the help of community service providers, when and if we do not have space available,” she stated.
