Edmonton’s homelessness crisis has reached a breaking point. The number of people living without stable housing surged to 4,697 in September 2024 — a 47 per cent increase in a single year and the highest figure recorded in at least five years according to data from Homeward Trust Edmonton. Of those, more than 1,100 people had no shelter whatsoever. The crisis is falling hardest on Indigenous Edmontonians, who make up just over six per cent of the city’s general population but account for 60 per cent of its homeless population. Despite the City of Edmonton spending nearly $92 million on homelessness initiatives in 2024 and removing close to 9,500 encampments — a 40 per cent jump from the year prior — advocates warn that clearing camps without providing housing simply moves people from one street corner to the next.

Marlaina's cure for First Nations unhoused people = killing them slowly using winter cold, lack of resources, political selfishness, brutal cops and a general disregard of humanity.

Fuck Marlaina.

Resources for the homeless in Edmonton have always been terrible, speaking as someone who was homeless there twice now. There's a lot of people wanting to make a difference, but as for organised supports in getting housing, there wasn't a lot when I lived up that way.

When you compare the resources available for the homeless in Edmonton to those available for people in Calgary, it's essentially night and day. Even with government assistance, I remember waiting over four hours on two occasions to get on Income Support in Edmonton, whereas in Calgary, we were in and out of the office in maybe fifteen or twenty minutes.

Mind you this was a few years ago, but still.