A new group of support workers has hit the streets of Grande Prairie. As of August1st, the outreach team is connecting with shelter users and street homeless people to find out more about who they are and connect them with the resources they need like food, shelter, and more permanent housing.
Homeless Initiatives Supervisor Katherine Sheppard says it’s all funded through the province.
“This was one of the gaps that was identified in the last couple of years; where are the support workers in the evenings and on weekends? So we noticed the gap and now we’ve got the team.”
It includes four members and a supervisor who will also help the city get a better idea of who is homeless in GP.
“They’re going to be having conversations with them, like talk to them about where there’s places in the city where you can get food, making sure that they know that they can go to the shelter for accommodation at night, and also one of our primary goals is to connect them to the support workers that can help them find housing.
The team will also be carrying snacks and water to hand out, and can be called by businesses experiencing issues with people hanging around.