Back in 2019, and unbeknownst to anyone – the worst possible timing – the Saskatchewan government changed how it administered assistance payments. So months before COVID hit the government stopped paying rent directly to landlords for those on social assistance.  There’s a lot of critics out there who think that’s the leading cause of addiction and homelessness.  Do I think it contributed?  Absolutely.  But the fact that the change was instituted when the whole world went sideways can’t be dismissed either.  Cast your mind back and think about stories in Saskatoon for instance about specific slum landlords and the living conditions and lack of fire safety.  That was I believe part of the motivation to have tenants pay the rent themselves.  Unfortunately as COVID- 19 and all that it created continues to churn and generate chaos, this led to people having addiction issues that then likely turned to homeless issues.  The government has tweaked the process several times and now there are clients where social services pays directly to the landlord to ensure they have a roof over their heads.  Will addicts, bad ones, give up a place to live to feed a habit?  Sure.  But this problem that is Canada wide now , is extremely complex and I can’t imagine being a social worker trying to navigate the system and the people suffering.