Mayor Charlie Clark said Saskatoon\u0027s social housing units should\u0027t sit empty when a record number of homeless people are on the streets.
Clark is challenging the Saskatoon Housing Authority — and by extension its parent organization, the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation — to reduce its vacancy rate after a one-day survey
Roger Parenteau, executive director of housing at the corporation, said 140 units in Saskatoon, or 5.3 per cent of the total, are considered ready to rent.“I think historically, the Saskatoon Housing Authority has been primarily just treated as another landlord. Right now we need that body that has access to all of these housing units to really innovate and re-think what role it can play to address these issues of homelessness.
Professor Isobel Findlay, a University of Saskatchewan academic and the lead researcher with the count, said Saskatoon has about 4,500 affordable housing units, roughly half of them run by the housing authority. About 18 per cent of them are vacant, compared to a national average of 1.5 per cent, she said.
One of the challenges, Clark acknowledged, is that many social housing units were built for families or seniors. Many people in need are single, and may be dealing with concurrent substance use issues. The provincial government has recently partnered with some non-profits to embed support services in empty homes, which Clark hopes will continue.The point-in-time count found around 82 per cent of homeless respondents are Indigenous.
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