The Red Deer Homeless Foundation would like to take a moment to recognize the recent news regarding the future operator of Red Deer’s emergency shelter services.
We want to acknowledge Safe Harbour Society for its long-standing commitment, dedication, and care in serving some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Beyond emergency shelter services, Safe Harbour makes meaningful contributions to Red Deer through outreach, housing stabilization, prevention, and other supports that help people navigate complex pathways toward stability. The work of their staff, volunteers, and leadership, often carried out under challenging circumstances, has mattered deeply to individuals, families, and the broader community. As the homelessness-serving system continues to evolve, we value Safe Harbour’s experience, relationships, and community knowledge and look forward to staying connected and exploring opportunities to collaborate in ways that strengthen outcomes for those we collectively serve.
We also want to recognize the Government of Alberta for its leadership and continued commitment to advancing client-centred, outcomes-focused approaches to homelessness across the province. We recognize the complexity of the decisions being made across the province and appreciate the Province’s efforts to strengthen alignment, accountability, and long-term system performance while keeping the needs and dignity of individuals at the centre of the conversation.
We would be remiss in failing to highlight the City of Red Deer for its leadership and sustained involvement at the municipal level, particularly in the context of the many complex and competing priorities cities are required to manage. Addressing homelessness presents significant challenges for cities, intersecting with public safety, land use, infrastructure, and community well-being. Despite these pressures, the City has remained engaged and constructive, working with the Government of Alberta to help advance a thoughtful and collaborative path forward for shelter services in Red Deer.
As our community transitions to a new operator, we look forward to engaging with Hope Mission in the weeks and months ahead. We see this moment as an opportunity to build relationships early, to listen, and to explore how collaboration, alignment, and shared learning can support stronger outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness and for the community as a whole.
The Red Deer Homeless Foundation was created to serve as a community connector and convener, not as a direct service provider and not as an advocate for any single organization or operational model. Our role centres around a desire to bring the community together by strengthening coordination, supporting shared understanding, and helping align efforts toward a more effective and integrated homelessness response.
Periods of change often generate strong emotions, uncertainty, and important questions. As the community reflects on what this decision means, we see this as a moment to bring people together, including service providers, governments, funders, and community leaders, to have thoughtful and constructive conversations about the integrated support system envisioned when the Province and the City entered into their Memorandum of Understanding regarding a permanent homelessness shelter for Red Deer.
This moment also invites us to pause and ask important questions:
- What is working well today that should be protected and strengthened?
- Where are people falling through the cracks?
- How can coordination, clarity of roles, and shared data improve outcomes, not just for systems, but for people?
Homelessness is complex. There are no single heroes and no simple solutions. Progress comes when organizations are supported rather than pitted against one another, when collaboration replaces fragmentation, and when the focus remains on helping people find and keep a pathway home.
The Red Deer Homeless Foundation remains committed to walking alongside our partners, respecting the expertise of frontline organizations, and helping create the conditions for a stronger and more coordinated response to homelessness in our region. We believe that when we light the path together, people get housed faster, stay housed longer, and the entire community benefits.
This work will not be easy, but it will be worth it. We are committed to doing it together.