A Home for the Homeless

Why are the number of homeless people increasing in Edmonton? There are many organizations in Edmonton helping the homeless. The homeless count in Edmonton should be decreasing or at the very least staying the same. We are asking for funding for a small pilot project that addresses this issue. 

Field Law's funding strategy, helping small innovative projects, is a good fit for this pilot project.

Based on our operational model, (we visit those in need), and our culture (serving in hope) we believe that Saint Vincent de Paul is uniquely equipped to prevent the recently housed homeless from slipping back into being homeless. This pilot project is designed to help a small number of the recently housed  homeless stay housed. A focused approach, based on a person's history will be used. What caused them to become homeless? What do they need to succeed?

Based on our research so far: a caring community, the ability to easily communicate and the ability to get to appointments and job interviews are the keys to success. Giving people hope that their lives can get better is so important. (our volunteers) 

This project is designed to give the recently housed what they they need to succeed. Making their empty apartment a home by providing household goods and furniture, visiting them on a regular basis, helping them get a telephone and giving them bus tickets will be part of their package.

This is a small pilot project with a focused approach. In the short run 3-4 homeless individuals will benefit. On a longer timeframe, the learnings from this project could benefit the overall homeless community of over 5,000 people in Edmonton and the overall homeless community in Canada.