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Eric Rice

National Housing Day--what’s the story?

Standing in deep snow and -15 temperatures, 80 people gathered on the plaza at the Legislature to mark 2024 National Housing Day.


Photo credit Quinn Strikwerda

A banner stretched across the space, declaring, “Housing Cures Homelessness.” As people arrived they smudged with Johnny Lee.  Nadine Chalifoux and Jim Gurnett welcomed everyone. Powerful messages in words from Bernadette Iahtail of Creating Hope Society and Rylan Kafara, host of the podcast Keep Moving, and in songs from Maria Dunn and Martin Kerr were presented. People joined in energetic chanting led by mother-daughter team Maria and Christina Kruszewski- Build housing now! Houses not shelters! Volunteers handed out post cards with a message to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invest in building social housing. The rally closed with powerful singing and drumming by Lloyd Cardinal and others from Enoch First Nation. As people left at the end of the program a pile of donated blankets and sleeping bags for people living in homelessness grew.


Photo credit Paula E. Kirman

Our Edmonton event was one of about 12 across Canada to mark this day dedicated to draw attention to the unnecessary catastrophe of homelessness. It grew out of the work of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee and was declared in 1998 by the mayors of major Canadian cities. It recognized that as governments abandoned the decades long building of non-market housing that began at the end of World War 2 by the 1990s we began to see more and more people becoming homeless.

 

With the count of people homeless in Edmonton approaching 1000, in 1999 the first rally was held to call for federal and provincial government action to build housing. But the 25 years since are largely a story of failure. Funding by both orders of government has been small and things have become worse and worse.

 

In Edmonton today on an average day 4500 or more people lack their own housing. Perhaps 1700 or so of them can maybe find a bit of room in an emergency shelter facility to sleep. And about 50,000 households in the city are in core housing need-- paying too much of their available funds for rent and/or living in places that are unsafe, unhealthy, or inadequate in some ways- facing the danger of becoming homeless.

 

The human and economic costs of governments refusing to commit to non-market housing for people with little money are enormous. A few months ago ECOHH presented a memorial service for 421 people who died in 2023 because of homelessness.

 

A single day once a year is not enough. Every day elected leaders need to hear our voices saying the answer to homelessness is well-known: build housing-- low-income rental, supportive, transitional, co-ops.

 

To keep the pressure up, you can pick up post cards to send to the prime minister at Communitas (200-12120-106 Avenue) during weekday office hours-- or send your own email to him or Premier Danielle Smith with your own message.


Photo credit Paula E. Kirman

If you missed the event, here are some links to news stories and additional photos:

 

 

 


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