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By rdnewsNOW staff

766 people

Red Deer District Chamber ‘deeply concerned’ with findings of PiT homeless count

Dec 18, 2024 | 11:04 AM

The Red Deer District Chamber is reaffirming its commitment to finding a solution for homelessness in the community following the City’s latest Point in Time (PiT) homeless count.

According to the count, there are now at least 766 people experiencing homelessness in Red Deer, which is more than double the reported 334 in 2022.

The Chamber is, “deeply concerned,” with the findings of the count which highlights the urgent need for action to help those in need.

“We launched the Red Deer Chamber Homelessness Taskforce in 2023 after the Point-in-Time count had doubled in 2022, to understand and identify solutions that could be adopted in our community,” said Scott Robinson, CEO of the Red Deer District Chamber in a media release. “Homelessness is a shared responsibility that impacts the economic and social health of Red Deer. The community needs to re-engage to address homelessness.”

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The taskforce identified six key themes that lead to homelessness in the community.

The primary recommendation to combat the crisis was to create a foundation dedicated to identifying sustainable solutions and mobilizing key community stakeholders to address the homelessness crisis with both compassion and urgency by the end of the year.

The Chamber said that goal has been achieved.

“As Tony Robbins likes to say, ‘If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you have always gotten.’ It’s time to shake things up, shift our paradigms, and pursue new ideas,” said Lyn Radford, chair of the Homelessness Task Force Transition Committee.

“Red Deer is a community that has always come together, rallied around common objectives, and found solutions where solutions don’t exist. The time is now.”

Over the past six months, the Chamber has taken immediate steps to implement the recommendations emerging from the taskforce, ensuring Red Deer’s most vulnerable have access to stable housing and essential support systems.