The County of Grande Prairie will be taking a look at homeless in the area. Starting Monday, the project called the Rural Homelessness Estimation will be used to see how many people are homeless or on the verge of being homeless.
FCSS Child, Youth, Family and Community Team Lead Lisa Watson hopes the project will shed some light on services that are in place and those that may be missing.
“We hope this estimation captures the experience of these individuals and provides information to determine which resources are needed most in our rural communities.”
There are four categories of living situations the project will count including sheltered and unsheltered people, those who have temporary homes and those who are at risk of becoming homeless. People in those situations are being asked to access assistance services and fill out a short survey.
Agencies who are participating in the project include the FCSS departments in Sexsmith, Beaverlodge, Wembley and Hythe, HIV North Society, Grande Prairie Seniors Outreach, Alberta Supports Grande Prairie, Rotary House, Odyssey House Women’s Shelter, Sunrise House, Grande Prairie Family Education Society and the Wellington Resource Centre.
The project will run from September 17 to October 17. Once completed, Watson says the County and municipalities will move forward with an action plan based on the results of the project.
