(File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Community-based partnership

BATC taking over Lighthouse shelter operations for interim

Sep 28, 2021 | 3:30 PM

There is some good news for the future of the homeless shelter in North Battleford.

The Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc. (BATC), Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN-S), the City of North Battleford, and the Lighthouse Supported Living have been in talks over the past months to find a solution, for the immediate future at least, to provide a local effort to respond to homelessness in the Battlefords.

The partnership will help ensure the service for the homeless continues to be accessible after the MN-S funding for the Lighthouse Serving the Battlefords ends on Sept. 30.

As a result, the Lighthouse has agreed to lease the North Battleford shelter to the BATC. In turn, the BATC will take over operations of the shelter for the next six months, while the Lighthouse evaluates their service model to become a more community-based organization with community-partner focused programming, according to Tuesday’s joint news release.

The Lighthouse Serving the Battlefords was at risk of closing in March of this year when it did not qualify for homelessness funding available.

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Provincial Métis Housing Corporation (PMHC), an affiliate of MN-S, previously provided core funding for the Battlefords Lighthouse shelter through the federally-funded Reaching Home Program. But when it was time for the Lighthouse to apply for funding again this year, PMHC was unable to meet its request as there was increased demand from homelessness response initiatives throughout Saskatchewan.

MN-S came forward to provide interim funding until the end of September to fill the gap until a more long-term solution could be found. Many Battlefords area community leaders came together over the past six months to look for ways to salvage the shelter before the interim resolution was found.

The BATC will be assuming operations of the shelter as of this Friday.

New name for shelter

In doing so, the BATC will be giving the shelter a new name: Miywasin Kikinaw.

“It is with pride that we have worked with our Elders to create a new name, ‘Miywasin Kikinaw — a beautiful place’. It is our hope to work with clients on a case-by-case basis, while focusing on health, wellness, and future transitioning. This has been close to our hearts. We have provided funding to the Lighthouse for over a decade. It makes sense to all of us at BATC to lead a new, more innovative approach to addressing homelessness in the Battlefords,” the BATC said.

BATC Director of Operations Alexis Christensen is excited about the future for the shelter. She said it will be available to everyone in need.

“It will serve the same purpose, but then some,” she told battlefordsNOW. “We want to look into that — transitional planning, housing. For those that are ready, we will be able to offer them employment and training opportunities…We want to look at some of the successful models from around the world, and emulate that in our own community.”

She especially expressed her appreciation to City of North Battleford Mayor David Gillan for his commitment to keeping the talks going over the past months.

Gillan said the city is grateful for the partners’ efforts in the initiative.

“The City of North Battleford is very thankful for our community-minded partners that have worked together to develop an innovative approach to continue this needed service for the homeless in the Battlefords,” he said in the statement.

At the same time, over the next six months, the Lighthouse Board will be tasked with working on strengthening community partnerships in the Battlefords and Saskatoon, and developing a long-term sustainable plan to reduce the risk of closure for the local shelter for the future.

“Building strong partnerships within the community is essential to ensure the needs are being properly served,” Lighthouse Board Chair Jerome Hepfner said in the statement. “We are committed to evolving the services to support the Battlefords and surrounding area in the best way possible through these partnerships.”

MN–S Housing Minister Ryan Carriere is glad to see a solution could be found to keep the homeless shelter operating for the time being through the groups working together.

“Homelessness prevention cannot be done successfully by one operator from outside the community,” he said. “A community-based partnership approach is more effective in achieving our goal of eliminating homelessness.”

The partners commended BATC for stepping up, and “working tirelessly to assume the full operations of the homeless shelter in North Battleford, with short notice.”

They believe that community programming, outreach, partnerships, and a strong strategic plan will improve the lives of the shelter’s guests and the day-to-day operations.

Coming up, organizers plan to hold a “community impact meeting” to bring all housing and community service providers in the area together for a discussion related to the changes at the shelter.

“This community impact meeting is to make sure the community is aware of challenges and the temporary change,” MN–S Housing Director Christena Konrad said. “It will allow all community partners to work together and fill gaps that may remain from the transition. The meeting will also uncover duplication of services or identify programming that has a low impact on the community overall.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @battlefordsnow