Homeless Task Force
Task Force on Homelessness
In April 2024, the Red Deer Chamber Homelessness Taskforce submitted its final report, which was met with strong support from the business community. Over the summer, Taskforce Chair Lyn Radford and Vice Chair Kathy Lacey worked diligently to establish a Transition Team, with a primary focus on advancing the report’s key recommendation: the formation of a Red Deer Homeless Foundation. The Transition Team has made significant progress and expects the foundation to become operational early in the new year.
The Red Deer District Chamber is proud to have led this initiative, including providing financial support for the development of the reports and the establishment of the foundation. Our formal involvement will conclude on January 31, 2025, when the foundation will be transitioned over to the community to guide and advance this important work.
The Transition Team has also launched a new monthly Community Update, with the inaugural edition available here: UPDATE: Red Deer Homeless Foundation Transition. I encourage you to subscribe to their newsletter to stay informed about developments and to share your feedback as opportunities arise. You can subscribe at Subscribe to the Red Deer Homeless Transition Team Update.
The business community plays an important role in addressing homelessness, and the Red Deer District Chamber will continue to advocate for and support solutions that benefit our entire community
Background:
During the City of Red Deer’s 2022 Point in Time Homeless count, 334 individuals were identified as experiencing homelessness, more than double the 144 individuals identified as experiencing homelessness in 2018.
Recognizing the growing impacts of homelessness throughout Red Deer, the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce formed a volunteer Task Force of volunteers to understand the homelessness situation in Red Deer better and identify specific areas where the business community can actively contribute to address the issue and advocate for meaningful change.
Final Report and Recommendations
The final report offers a strategic roadmap for addressing homelessness in Red Deer, emphasizing collaboration, systemic changes, and sustained advocacy efforts.
Final Report and Recommendations
Feedback Summary
The Feedback Summary shares the results of the feedback collected by the Task Force regarding the interim report.
Interim What We Heard Report
The interim report outlines the Task Forces’ understanding of the homelessness situation in Red Deer and provides a summary of what has been learned during the research phase.
Next Steps
There are three ways to connect with the Chamber to provide feedback on the Final Report:
- The Chamber will present the report to community organizations, not-for-profits, service clubs, and businesses with the aim of listening to and integrating your feedback into the implementation of the recommendations. If you are interested in hearing more, please reach out to us at taskforce@reddeerchamber.com.
- The Chamber will meet with individual stakeholder groups 1:1 to discuss specific recommendations and their effects. If you are interested in meeting with us, please reach out to taskforce@reddeerchamber.com.
- Alternatively, you can share your thoughts and perspectives here.