Advocates say voices will go unheard after Saskatoon cancels in-person homeless count

The president of a Métis non-profit organization in Saskatoon is raising concerns about the City of Saskatoon’s cancellation of its annual in-person homelessness count, saying some voices will go unheard.

Shirley Isbister, president of CUMFI, says the survey component of the point-in-time (PiT) count is the most critical to moving forward in addressing the city’s ongoing situation.

“I think the most important part of a PiT count is actually getting to sit down with people that are unhoused and see what their needs are and what they want,” Isbister told Global News in an interview.

The count, which provides a one-day snapshot of both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness in the city, was scheduled for Tuesday but was cancelled by the city last week due to concerns about potential protests that could put volunteers’ safety at risk.

Late last month, the city planned to clean up two encampments near 20th Street, but the fire department stopped after protests and disruptions by advocates.

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In a news release, the city called the protestors “aggressive,” saying they made the site unsafe by blocking contractors’ equipment and climbing atop fencing stacked on vehicles.

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Lesley Anderson, director of planning and development at the city, says they had 250 volunteers lined up to conduct the count this year over a 12-hour period, but recent “aggression” raised concerns for the city, leading to the cancellation decision.

“We just couldn’t put people in that situation when they’re volunteering to do this in the community,” Anderson told reporters at a Monday news conference.

“There were people in each other’s faces yelling. There was a lot of gesturing,” she said.

“It’s just a volatile situation, and we couldn’t put volunteers in that situation.”

As for encampments, Anderson says the city will work with the fire department instead to estimate how many people are living in them.

“Saskatoon Fire is out there all the time dealing with encampments throughout the community. So we can do a fairly good estimate of that,” said Anderson.

The city says it will still collect information from emergency shelters, transitional housing centres, prisons and hospitals to gain a full picture of the current situation. Community organizations like CUMFI already track those kinds of numbers.

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Ibister says CUMFI had 87,000 visits to its doors between April 1 and July 31, which is “really high” despite seeing an increase in demand over the past few years.

Last year, Saskatoon recorded 1,931 unhoused people in its PiT count, which was 30 per cent higher than the year before.

Anderson says the city considered delaying this year’s count, but it would have been a big ask of the roughly volunteers who had committed to a single day.

Delaying the count into November also ran the risk of it coinciding with the opening of warming shelters, Anderson said, which would have been “problematic” for how people are categorized.

“Once the warming centers open, anyone who is in those centers is then counted as sheltered versus unsheltered. So that would affect our data quite significantly if we waited until that colder weather and those centers open.”

The city says a more comprehensive PiT count is planned for next year.

Encampment future unknown

Last week, the city put all encampment clearing efforts on hold while an emergency injunction case was before a judge. However, the judge dismissed the injunction.

In a statement to Global News, the city said it will not speak publicly of its operational plans, adding its approach remains focused on connecting people with supports.