Saskatoon tribal chief supports police board request for homelessness, addictions funding

The head of the Saskatoon Tribal Council says he supports a request by the city’s board of police commissioners seeking more provincial funding to help with issues around addictions and homelessness.

The board is scheduled to meet for the first time since June on Thursday, and the agenda includes a discussion on how the City of Saskatoon could secure more help with “an urgent need for facilities and supports for individuals with complex needs.”

According to the board, police are getting more calls for “outreach assistance” than any other category.

Tribal Chief Mark Arcand, speaking outside the Emergency Wellness Centre on Wednesday, said the request has his full support.

“We have been full since we’ve opened,” Arcand said.

“We have a lot of complex needs issues that we’re dealing with, and we’re having a hard time dealing with. I think that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.”

In May, the board wrote a letter to Everett Hindley, Saskatchewan’s minister of mental health and addictions, Health Minister Paul Merriman and Social Services Minister Gene Makowsky, requesting the province provide more funding to help the city address the issues it’s facing.

“In 2022, calls for outreach assistance surpassed all other calls for service. Outreach requests include housing issues, wellness checks, counselling, public safety, mental health, and medical assistance,” the letter to the province said.

“Over the past two years the Community Support Program has observed and reported a significant increase in the number of people sleeping in building vestibules, encampments, public sidewalks, benches, and parks. About 14 per cent of the total calls to the CSP (2,630 calls involving 3,105 people) required the assistance of the Saskatoon Police Service.”

While the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners acknowledged that police have a role in handling those types of issues, a lack of housing and facilities means officers are often left with no place to take people, and they are ultimately released back into the community without any form of support. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

The board said valuable policing resources are being used to address those calls. While they acknowledged that police have a role in handling those types of issues, a lack of housing and facilities means officers are often left with no place to take people, and they are ultimately released back into the community without any form of support.

Responding to the letter sent by the police commissioners, the provincial government said it has already committed $518 million for mental health and addictions support across Saskatchewan, but said there is more work to do. The province said it’s already working alongside the city and other partners.

Arcand said he hopes that if the city can find more funding, his group can create a specific facility for those with complex needs so they can get the help they need.

“I support the commissioners on their request for more complex beds. We need the funding to go along with that. It can’t be poor funding, because the system is going to fail and we’re wasting money if it’s not properly funded,” he explained.

“This is a growing problem in our city and province. Saskatoon is the biggest city in the province, and I think we’ve got to be a leader to help people and try to heal them, but it’s going to take a huge investment to do that.”

Arcand noted that winter is approaching quickly, and suggested the problems could continue to get worse if something isn’t done to help.

“When we talk about people with complex needs, that number is going to grow. We need the proper staff in place to deal with people (suffering from) psychosis. We don’t have that here,” Arcand said.

“At the end of the day, we need that proper investment to make sure we’re helping people.”