CMHA to end Red Deer's Pathways to Housing program Sept. 30
Provincial funding for the supportive housing programs will cease at month's end, leaving the Alberta government to find a new operator for roughly 38 clients.
Why it matters
About 38 vulnerable Red Deer residents face uncertainty over their housing support as the province works to line up a new operator.
The Canadian Mental Health Association's Central Region branch says it has been told by the provincial government that funding for its Amethyst House and Pathways to Housing Permanent Supportive Housing programs in Red Deer will end effective Sept. 30, ending CMHA's operation of the programs.
Residents were relocated from the 48-unit Amethyst House complex in July after fire safety concerns prompted the building's closure. CMHA said the programs, which originally had capacity for up to 62 participants, currently support about 38 clients, who have been in temporary alternate housing since July 17.
CMHA executive director Courtney Ukrainetz said the organization is working with the Government of Alberta and other partners on an orderly transition to minimize disruption, but said CMHA has no information yet on a future service provider, as the province is now responsible for identifying one.
Alberta's Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction says it is in early planning stages to establish a new permanent supportive housing program in Red Deer aligned with the Alberta Recovery Model. No decisions have been made on location, operator or eligibility requirements, and the ministry said community engagement will be required once an operator is chosen.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.