Amethyst House residents being relocated to shelter as ‘precautionary measure’

Now, CMHA says that as a precautionary measure, they are relocating residents while they work with provincial funding partners and community stakeholders to determine next steps.

As for the reasons behind the relocation, the number of people impacted, and where they are being relocated to, multiple sources aside from CMHA have confirmed these details to rdnewsNOW.

(Image Credit: rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“We want to reassure the community that no resident will become unhoused as a result of this transition. Every individual is being supported through a planned move to appropriate accommodations where they will continue to receive the housing, care, and supports they need,” says Courtney Ukrainetz, executive director, CMHA Central Alberta.

“Our focus remains on ensuring residents are safe, supported, and connected to appropriate accommodations and services throughout this transition. While this temporary relocation may be disruptive, our staff are working closely with each resident and our community partners to minimize impacts and ensure continuity of care.”

Ukrainetz adds that because this matter involves vulnerable individuals and operational considerations, they must respect the privacy of those affected and ask the public to do the same.

Red Deer Emergency Services Deputy Chief Matt White tells rdnewsNOW the building is currently under an order to complete certain fixes by July 22.

That includes ensuring all smoke alarms and the building’s fire alarm system are functioning properly.

White says that while every commercial building in the city is subject to routine inspections, the fire department has been at Amethyst House a few times this past spring for fire incidents. That means they’ve been able to inspect things while present.

That includes a fire incident in early May where a person was found deceased in the building as emergency personnel responded. The death was said to be unrelated to the fire.

From that investigation, however, a re-inspection occurred July 8 to check for further deficiencies.

The Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction, meanwhile, says it is working with CMHA to safely transfer all 48 residents to other accommodations at the emergency homeless shelter operated by Hope Mission.

“The transfer is expected to be complete by the end of the week,” a ministry spokesperson says.

“While government works closely with CMHA and other ministries to fund suitable long-term housing for residents, they are temporarily being relocated to Hope Mission shelter to ensure their safety. Local Recovery Alberta teams are engaged and providing support.”

The ministry provides $1.36 million in operating funds to CMHA annually, though it’s unclear how much of that goes directly to Amethyst House.

Red Deer Mayor Cindy Jefferies said in an interview with rdnewsNOW on Wednesday that this is an unfortunate step backward in the local battle against homelessness.

The city already needed to add around 140 to 170 permanent supportive housing spaces, she pointed out, and now that number goes up by about 50.

“We did hear that Amethyst House’s lease was going to come up at the end of December, and then we were alerted a few days back that they were going to close it imminently,” Jefferies divulged. “And it wasn’t the landlord or CMHA that were closing it; it was being closed due to health and safety concerns for the residents in that space.”

Her understanding is that’s primarily tied to the ongoing fire-related issues.

Though Amethyst House is in Red Deer-South, Jefferies has been in regular contact with Red Deer-North MLA Adriana LaGrange, who has connections as a high-ranking official in health, she noted. LaGrange has asked for constant updates, she added.

But while all parties are working expeditiously, the mayor estimates the gap, in terms of having a permanent roof over the heads of displaced Amethyst House residents, could last 3-12 months.

Various coverings obstruct an upper-floor window at Amethyst House on July 15, 2026. (Image Credit: rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“This is an area that’s a provincial responsibility and funded provincially; of course, as city council, we do care about people in our community and want them to be housed in a good way. This is a challenge because the needs of people who are currently staying at Amethyst House are quite high,” she said.

Mayor Jefferies has also had discussions with Alberta’s infrastructure minister, but her outreach hasn’t stopped there.

She’s also looped in the federal government, with whom the City of Red Deer has been squabbling over $3 million for several months. Those are dollars the feds have wanted returned after city council refused in 2025 to implement four-as-of-right zoning across the city, which was a stipulation of them receiving $12 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund.

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A quarter of it had already been paid out to the city, and when Ottawa asked for it back, the city said no; however, it remains unspent, and Jefferies said she’s told the federal powers that be over the last few days about the Amethyst House situation, explaining they’d like to divert at least some of that $3 million towards permanent supportive housing.

What’s more is that there are several shovel-ready permanent supportive housing projects, Jefferies shared, but lamented the fact that they remain unfunded.

One applied for a few years ago by Red Deer Housing Authority and Bridges Community Living to the province was denied, she said. It would’ve been located somewhere along Taylor Drive.

Jefferies clarified further that CMHA’s lease at the hotel-turned-housing is up in December, and her understanding is it wasn’t to be renewed. But it’s too soon to say what will happen to that building, which is privately owned.

“If we could keep the people who are living at Amethyst House housed, that would be a win,” Jefferies concluded.

“We recognize it certainly is chaotic, and that this can cause issues for the residents of Amethyst House to have all of this going on.”

While details of how Amethyst House residents will be accommodated at the shelter are sparse, it is worth noting that just last week, rdnewsNOW reported about the latest Point in Time homeless count numbers, and what average usage has been since Hope Mission took over operations from Safe Harbour on April 1.

A Hope Mission spokesperson noted that regular capacity is about 200, and average nightly usage has been 136 people.

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READ MORE

July 2026: Latest count finds 645 people experiencing homelessness in Red Deer
May 2026: RCMP investigating death discovered during response to Amethyst House fire
2021: Amethyst House going strong one year after opening
2020: Amethyst House a fresh start for permanent housing in Red Deer

by Josh Hall

Amethyst House residents being relocated to shelter as ‘precautionary measure’

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