"Homeless by a Wall" by garryknight is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

At Saskatoon City Hall, work is underway on developing a plan to address the homelessness crisis in the city.

The plan utilizes $4.48 million from the federal government to develop supportive housing units and a study for a potential community navigation centre. Mayor Cynthia Block wrapped up today’s city council meeting by directing Administration to advise City Council what its role can be in relation to the crisis, which has left roughly 1,500 Saskatoon residents without a permanent place to live.

“The missing critical piece still exists, and that’s to have residents and businesses involved in how we move forward. This needs to be a whole city approach. If we want to get to the other side of this crisis, it will take all of us.”

In her motion, she also asked Administration to lay the groundwork for the creation of a sub-committee of council members, whose job would be to activate partnerships to accelerate said plan. The motion was unanimously approved.

In other efforts to help Saskatoon’s homeless population, the fully staffed public washroom in Saskatoon’s Kiwanis Memorial Park will remain until the end of the year following a vote by City Council today.

Ward 6 Councilor Jasmin Parker motioned to extend the pilot project after learning it would end on January 31st, leaving a service gap in the community. The pilot also funds a fully staffed washroom trailer on Avenue M.

City Manager Jeff Jorgenson says this money will allow the buildings to remain fully staffed, however there will be fewer outreach services offered to the facility’s users.

“It’s still definitely an enhanced service compared to what we typically offer, but a lesser service than we offered in 2024.”

The unanimous approval of the one-year extension means $239 thousand will be removed from the City’s Capital Expenditures Reserve, leaving $570 thousand in the account.