Council being asked to support funding requests from Reaching Home portfolio

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on July 11, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge city council today will be asked in its consent agenda to approve $400,000 in funding allocation requests recommended by the Economic Standing Policy Committee which includes all members of council.

Those recommendations come from the Community Wellbeing and Safety Strategy Advisory Committee.

Those requests specifically involve $400,000 in funding from the federal Reaching Home funding portfolio.

The matter is one of 12 committee reports contained in today’s consent agenda.

The request includes that council approve up to $200,000 of Reaching Home funding as a one-time cost “to complete a needs assessment and strategic updates to the Community Wellbeing and Safety Strategy and Municipal Housing Strategy,” says the report being submitted. It also calls upon the City Manager and City Clerk to be authorized to sign funding agreements and that such agreements be subject to continuous administrative review and optional renewal at the City’s discretion pending available funding from the federal government.

The funding request includes that council approve up to $90,000 annually from the Reaching Home funding portfolio over four years to be allocated to the Blood Tribe Department of Health to deliver the Lethbridge Wellness Shelter and Stabilization Unit Population Support Navigator.

Council is being asked to approve as well up to $170,000 of Reaching Home funding to the Canadian Mental Health Association for the purchase of two vehicles in support of Diversion Outreach Team program operations.

Also included is a request for $20,000 of Reaching Home funding to be allocated as a one-time cost for the facilitation of a community-wide Integrated Coordinated Access Engagement Service Fair.

A report by Community Social Development Manager Andrew Malcolm states the consultant hired to do the needs assessment will use the information gathered to complete updates to the CWSS and Municipal Housing Strategy.

The support navigator will work out of the wellness shelter and stabilization unit and will be responsible for providing referrals through the Integrated Co-ordinated Access system to “support shelter-based individuals in accessing appropriate services available within the system of care,” says the report.

The DOT vans will replace existing units to “to ensure that service delivery is

not interrupted due to the mechanical issues the current vehicles are presently

experiencing on a regular basis.”

The service fair will be for social services agencies to “convey messaging of the

Integrated Coordinated Access system, provide an opportunity for systems level

engagement and collaboration, and provide a platform for agencies to share

what they do, how they do it, and how they could potentially benefit participants