Spit…

Each of these Shayna Daniels has witnessed being hurled at users of Red Deer’s emergency homeless shelter.

And she’s been in the line of fire from them herself.

“They drive around, they take pictures of us, then talk dirty. It’s not cool. It’s very degrading and [makes us feel] unworthy,” she says.

“Unworthy of wanting anything because [we’re told] these people,” — the ones throwing rocks, she means — “are supposed to be normal, as they say, but they’re driving by throwing rocks at us.”

Does that seem right to anyone?

Because if you ask Daniels, dehumanizing folks isn’t going to rectify their homelessness.

THE DOWNFALL AND THE STRUGGLE

One conversation with Daniels, a single mid-30s mom to one, truly highlights the complexities behind homelessness in Red Deer

Daniels has been at the Hope Mission-run shelter since April 1 of this year, at least; she initially became unhoused around two years ago following a relationship gone sour.

She’s worked.

She wants to work again…

She had shared custody of her son.

She would like it back, if only she could, as she put it, “get her sh*t together…”

But that can be mightily hard to do when one’s journey through experiencing homelessness collides with the complexity known as substance use.

For Daniels, the vice has been alcohol, which she shared is something she’s overcome to a degree.

Two close friends died from fentanyl overdoses a couple of months ago, she lamented.

“I couldn’t be there to save them, but I know it’s not my fault,” said Daniels, who has, in the past, administered naloxone to people who are in the middle of an overdose.

“Emotionally, that screws you up, man.”

“Mentally, it’s not good, especially when you’re trying to reach bigger heights and get back to where you were.”

MEETING AT THE NEXUS

(Image Credit: rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

Red Deer is at a crossroads, or a nexus, if you will… and Daniels can feel it.

Wait times for certain services are a big problem, she says, as people find the motivation to get help.

“It can drag on, and you just want to give up because what are you supposed to do besides sit there and wait?”

She even once attended city council meetings where discussions were being had about homeless encampments.

She admitted it didn’t make much sense, but was proud to say she’s at least tried to follow along with the decisions that people in power are making on behalf of her and others in the unhoused community.

Daniels even reads the news on her phone, she said, and is somewhat aware of Project Nexus.

Project Nexus is a planned social care and emergency shelter campus on Red Deer’s north end, within an industrial area and away from the downtown.

It’s been in the works for some time, and its first phase, which is a Hope Mission-operated shelter, is anticipated to open sometime in 2027.

“That’s the thing down by the dog park? I don’t have a clue; I just know that’s what they were supposed to be building,” she remarked.

“I know there was a vote. I never got to vote.”

Daniels’ primary concern is that those behind the project ensure the people who are going to seek shelter there can adequately and safely access all the other services meant for them.

To the credit of the Red Deer Homeless Foundation, the goal of Project Nexus, as stated, is to bring a bevy of wrap-around services to that building, thus people don’t have to go anywhere else.

While it remains to be seen, and to Daniels’ point, the chance will remain that there are simply too many services to relocate there, making it necessary for people to, in fact, travel.

A shuttle is her suggestion, if that’s the case.

SEEKING OPTIMISM THROUGH MENTAL ILLNESS

Step one for Daniels on the road to health, happiness and home is sobriety, she says.

But that’s made difficult by the slobber-knocker of a wrestling match that she’s fighting with depression and anxiety, which isn’t helped by the rock-throwers, mind you.

Her driving desire, aside from her lifelong goal of being a singer, is to gain back the relationship and time she once had with her teenage son.

“I want to work hard. I like hard work, and I want to show my son that I can be the best mother I can be.”

Notwithstanding community agencies which she has used and will accept future help from, the mantra she carries daily is that she, and only she, can be the catalyst to getting herself out of her current situation.

“You can’t have anyone else do it for you. It just won’t work out like that,” she said. “But I don’t have the same oomph I used to.”

Which, again, isn’t helped by the asinine behaviour of a few whose actions are nonetheless very hurtful.

“Practice what you preach. [The people who throw the rocks], they’re all goody two-shoes online, and they act like they care,” she said.

“We want to see help in this community, so be the help in the community. Don’t, you know… don’t do [stuff] like that.”

—

To learn more about how you can contribute to the Hope Mission emergency homeless shelter in Red Deer, visit hopemission.com.

Red Deer’s latest count of those experiencing homelessness occurred earlier this month. The final tally in 2025 was 645 people; however, it’s important to keep in mind that these counts represent one-day snapshots and do not represent the precise number of people out there. (READ MORE)

Three Red Deer agencies are uniting to raise funds for causes strongly tied to homelessness. (READ MORE & READ MORE)

by Josh Hall

More Than A Number | Part 2: Hope despite rocks, beer bottles, and spit

THE DOWNFALL AND THE STRUGGLE

MEETING AT THE NEXUS

SEEKING OPTIMISM THROUGH MENTAL ILLNESS

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