Lethbridge homeless support facilities expanding to cope with increasing demand

The Lethbridge Shelter is working on a $5.4 million project to expand its capacity. (CTV News)

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. -

Lethbridge has seen its population of people experiencing homelessness increase significantly over recent years, but help is coming, as construction is underway on an expansion of the Lethbridge Shelter.

The $5.4 million project is expected to start taking in clients in February. It would push the shelter's capacity from about 120 to over 200.

“We'll start at the 200 spaces and then we do have an overflow capacity, and we don't really know exactly what that will look like at this time. However, we're in the making of some plans for contingency around that,” said Suzanne Buchanan, director of the stabilization unit at the Lethbridge Shelter.

Attached to the shelter is the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen. In anticipation of the shelter's expansion, the soup kitchen is working on its own expansion project.

Private donors have contributed over $400,000 to expand the soup kitchen by 39 spaces.

Construction is expected to begin in April and should take three months.

“What we're trying to do is plan ahead. We currently have space for 90 people out in one sitting. We do two sittings in that 45-minute timespan, which means 180. And that's not enough. We've been having 200, 224 is our biggest number so far,” said Bill Ginther, executive director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen.

Between 2018 and 2022 the population more than doubled, going from 223 to 454, according to Point in Time Counts done in the city.

“We are seeing in Lethbridge especially increased numbers of those that are unsheltered, people coming in from other areas as well. Such as off-reserve or smaller areas that maybe don't have resources for people as well,” Buchanan said.

While the expanded facilities will likely still be crowded, it will provide an opportunity for more people to get out of the elements, especially during winter.

“We see a lot of people with frostbite. When it gets really cold we see amputations. Those could be avoided,” said Ginther.

A Point in Time Count to survey the number of people experiencing homelessness in Lethbridge was done in October.

The results will be released at a later date.