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Lighthouse to talk with province

Feb 20, 2016 | 9:44 AM

The Lighthouse homeless shelter continues its three month struggle with the province over funding.

Ministry officials are meeting with Caitlin Glencross, Lighthouse manager on Monday, Feb. 22, to try and hammer out a funding agreement so the shelter can stay open.

On Dec. 15, 2015, an employee with the Ministry of Social Services at the North Battleford branch sent out an email to The Lighthouse outlining changes to the approval process for clients at the shelter.

However, Jeff Redekop, Executive Director for Income Assistance Delivery with the Ministry of Social Services, said that there have been no changes to Ministry policy, or its application of policy.

“Our rules are that we have the capability to pay a per diem rate for those in need of emergency shelter if the individual is eligible for our program,” Redekop said. “But, we also have the ability to pay in the short term until eligibility is confirmed.”

The ministry was not paying for a client to stay at the shelter until their eligibility for services was approved or denied, Glencross said, which constituted the bulk of The Lighthouse’s funding.

According to Glencross when the ministry’s approval policy was changed in Dec. 2015, the shelter lost roughly 90 percent of its funding, leaving it in its current precarious financial situation.  

The shelter has been open for just over a year, hosting its first anniversary celebration on Jan. 26. 2016. In that short time, community members have noticed a decrease in crime in North Battleford’s downtown. 

Cpl. Jason Olney, a watch commander with the North Battleford RCMP, said the shelter has been a catalyst for that decline. 

“I do see an improvement with our stats,” Olney said. “The shelter gives the people somewhere to go. I have seen a huge improvement in the lifestyles with some of the people who are at The Lighthouse.” 

“Seeing it close, I’m not sure where some of the people would stay. It gives them somewhere to go, a warm place to sleep, and (is) a good shelter for them.” 

City officials are also concerned over the precariousness of The Lighthouse’s finances and what that could mean for the city. 

Ian Hamilton, North Battleford’s mayor, spoke candidly about what it would mean for the city if the shelter were to permanently close its doors, saying he would, “categorize it as tragic.” 

“We don’t have a plan B right now with respect to the homeless and those individuals at risk,” Hamilton said. “We would find it very devastating to have the lighthouse close down now.”

For a number of years before The Lighthouse opened, the Battleford’s Indian Metis Friendship Centre acted as an emergency shelter nightly from 9 p.m. till 8 a.m. the following morning, but provided only very basic services. 

“We were very grateful for them to step up and provide that service, but it was basically an overnight thing with no additional services,” Hamilton said. “It’s quite a bit different from the Lighthouse operation which is 24/7, 365, providing meals and some support services.” 

A spokesperson at the Battlefords’ Indian Metis Friendship Centre declined to comment when asked about the organization’s ability and willingness to take up their pervious role as an emergency shelter should The Lighthouse close.  

Currently, The Lighthouse is able to remain open from funding it received from the Battleford Agency Tribal Chiefs Development Corp. This funding is a stop-gap measure and will run out Mar. 1.  

“We certainly provide our moral support but our understanding is that…(the shelter) would be short somewhere in the area of $300,000 to $350,000 a year,” Hamilton said. “The city can’t come up with that kind of money.” 

While the city cannot fund The Lighthouse to its full operational capacity, the mayor said that it would contribute some funds to the shelter, as it did with the Friendship Centre when it functioned as the city’s only emergency shelter. 

“We are doing our darnedest to facilitate as best we can discussions between and among the various government ministries,” Hamilton said. “I’ve attended a number of meetings over the last little while to try to bring to the attention of the government how important it is to our public safety initiatives that we have embarked upon in the city.” 

Dcairnsbrenner@jpbg.ca