Lethbridge to get $5.6 million over four years from homelessness grant

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The Metropolis of Lethbridge will obtain near $5.6 million over 4 years from a federal authorities grant program that helps communities deal with homelessness, however metropolis officers famous Tuesday that funding will drop considerably within the last two years of the settlement.

The feds’ present settlement with Lethbridge underneath the Reaching Residence initiative expires Sunday, however a four-year extension is to kick in on Monday and run till March 31, 2028.

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By way of this system, the federal authorities is offering the southern Alberta metropolis with roughly $5.59 million over the 4 years, together with about $3.78 million to Lethbridge as a delegated group and an extra $1.8 million from Reaching Residence’s Indigenous homelessness stream.

Underneath the brand new settlement, Lethbridge is receiving barely much less within the first two years than town did in 2023-24, however funding will lower by 54 per cent within the final two years, factors out a metropolis report ready for Tuesday’s council assembly.

As a delegated group, Lethbridge will get about $1.3 million every year for the primary two years, and underneath the Indigenous stream town will obtain an extra $696,000 per 12 months for the primary two years.

Drop in funding ‘fairly regarding’

Nevertheless, within the final two years of the settlement, Lethbridge will get roughly $596,000 per 12 months as a delegated group and $205,000 underneath the Indigenous homelessness stream.

“The drop is sort of regarding to me,” Coun. Jeff Carlson mentioned throughout Tuesday’s council assembly.

Andrew Malcolm, common supervisor of town’s group social growth crew, mentioned the lower was additionally regarding to administration. He had identified that Reaching Residence grant funding had remained “fairly constant” throughout the earlier four-year settlement that’s about to return to an finish.

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The Canadian Alliance to Finish Homelessness has advocated for the federal authorities to handle the scenario within the upcoming federal finances, he mentioned.

“We definitely wait and hope that it’s, as a result of that sort of drop will likely be considerably seen in our group,” mentioned Malcolm.

However he added the priority isn’t distinctive to Lethbridge and that funding drop is going down throughout the nation.

“Some municipalities have been even a larger drop, so in that sense we’re lucky,” mentioned Malcolm.

The report notes there will likely be little change to funding commitments in 2024, with a Lethbridge committee to listen to later this spring a proposed plan from administration on the way to spend the 2025-08 Reaching Residence funds. Town plans to ask for proposals from the group as soon as it has recognized the important thing areas it needs to spend the grant funding on.

The federal authorities has pledged roughly $1.4 billion in funding from 2024-28 for communities throughout Canada for the Reaching Residence program, which was established in 2019. By way of its homelessness technique, the federal authorities goals to cut back power homelessness throughout Canada by 50 per cent by 2027–28.

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