Initiatives

Homeward Trust Edmonton is very active on many fronts. These initiatives move our community forward toward effective community-based solutions to current housing-related challenges.

Our initiatives focus on building a better awareness of the issues and developing the information-base to support better social and community decision-making.

Homeward Trust Edmonton projects are implemented through its very small staff, active volunteers, community organizations staff and consultants hired as the project requires.

We encourage anyone interested in getting involved to contact us at (780) 496-2630.

CURRENT AND COMPLETED INITIATIVES:
COMMUNITY PLAN ON HOUSING AND SUPPORT SERVICES 2005-2009

The new Community Plan provides strategic direction to guide the type of projects undertaken and the distribution of resources utilized in housing related initiatives for Edmonton until 2009.

The plan was built in consultation with the community – both those that will benefit from the programs and services and those agencies that work to implement community-based solutions.

This new plan follows the previously approved Community Plan on Homelessness 2000 - 2003.

AWARENESS ENHANCEMENT FUND

This promotional fund has been established to provide modest promotional support for activities that community partners undertake that help Homeward Trust Edmonton deliver its communication message to the widest audience. The Articles of Agreement and the application form provide details. If you have a question about whether your activity is eligible don't hesitate to contact us at (780) 496-2630.

EVALUATION OF CURRENT COMMUNITY PLAN

The Performance Monitoring Committee will complete a formal evaluation of the progress made toward realizing the Community Plan on Housing and and Support Services 2005 – 2009. This evaluation will highlight the achievements to date and identify the outstanding challenges that need to be addressed in future plans. The evaluation provides part of the program accountability required by each of the funding agencies.

EDMONTON HOMELESS STUDY

The Edmonton Homelessness Study 2004 was a project, sponsored by the Edmonton Joint Planning Committee on Housing, to generate information on the characteristics of persons in Edmonton who are homeless and at risk of homelessness. The study identified the gaps in the system of supports for homeless persons, homelessness risk factors, and homelessness prevention and intervention strategies, policies and programs.

Several information sources suggest that homelessness in Edmonton is growing in magnitude and complexity. These include recent "Counts of Homeless Persons", current usage and turnaways at existing emergency shelters, and information from organizations serving the homeless.

The project Steering Committee contracted with the consulting firm of Vista Evaluation & Research Services (Calgary) to undertake the study in view of Vista's academic expertise and practical knowledge in surveying homeless persons and in view of similar work recently conducted in Calgary.

For the Edmonton Study, Vista conducted quantitative surveys with 330 persons who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and in-depth interviews with 70 of those persons. To conduct the surveys, Vista engaged persons who have had direct experience with homelessness.

PARTNERING WITH THE URBAN ABORIGINAL STRATEGY

The Urban Aboriginal Strategy (UAS) was created in 1997 by the federal government to help respond to the needs faced by Aboriginal people living in key urban centres.

In Edmonton, The UAS was managed by Homeward Trust Edmonton through an Aboriginal driven application review process.

Through the UAS, the Government of Canada partners with other governments, community organizations and Aboriginal people to support projects that respond to local priorities.

Since Homeward Trust came on board in 2004, 70 projects and $4.4 million in UAS funding was allocated to Edmonton. And another $7.1 million in additional funding was leveraged on top of this. In 2007, thirty-eight UAS projects were active.

The Aboriginal Application Review Committee (AARC) selected projects that met one of the three UAS national priority areas and at least one local priority identified by the Edmonton Aboriginal community.

UAS Funded Projects in 2007

Project	Activity
Alberta Native Friendship Centre (ANFC)	Open Worlds
Edmonton Catholic School District	Spring Break Cultural Camp
Albera Assoc. of Aboriginal Music	Board Workshop
Alberta Native Friendship Centre (ANFC)	Health & Wellness via Arts & Crafts
Creating Hope Society	Support for Families
ANFC - Health and Wellness	Traditional Arts and Crafts
Creating Hope Society	Research & Development Children in Care
IAAW Esquap Inc.	Economic Development, Health
Dreamspeakers Festival Society	Film Industry Training
N. Alberta Alliance on Race Relations	Human Rights Education Program
Yellowhead Tribal College	Language, Culture, History Project
U of A Women & Children's Health Dept	Visual Narrative Project
Bent Arrow	Community Mentorship - Web Design
NSCA Computer Technician Training	Computer Technician Training

Wicihitowin: Circle of Shared Responsibility
Guided by a Circle of Elders, it was through this community designed process that the Aboriginal community identified three areas of work that are critical to meeting the needs of their community.

Identifying urgent issues and priorities,
Creating an Accord Relationship Agreement to provide a set of principles and values to establish working relations, and,
Creating a community mechanism for new ways of working together called: Wicihitowin: Circle of Shared Responsibility.

Homeward Trust Edmonton was a partner with UAS in the two-year community development initiative to develop the Wicihitowin: Circle of Shared Responsibility here. Wicihitowin is a Cree word meaning "help each other."

The program is a community driven model of urban governance that’s inclusive of all Aboriginal peoples and the agencies that serve them in Edmonton. As a result, it’s based on Indigenous traditions of governance and community decision making.

The goal is to help Aboriginal people work more effectively together on identifying and addressing vital issues and concerns impacting their community in Edmonton.

The structure of Wicihitowin: Circle of Shared Responsibility

4 Circles Elders - women, men and youth
8 Action Circles - Aboriginal & non-Aboriginal organizations, agencies, Aboriginal community members and three orders of government technicians
Governments - Federal, Provincial, Aboriginal and Municipal

Wicihitowin’s Administration
The Wicihitowin Secretariat provides administration, communication and logistical support to the Wicihitowin: Circle of Shared Responsibility and Action Circles. The Action Circles work to develop collective strategies in addressing urban Aboriginal issues.

ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE

Completion of the first Community Plan on Homelessness 2000 - 2003
Completion of the second Community Plan on Housing and Support Services 2005 - 2009
Implementation of priority activities within the community plan through six standing committees.
Review and update of the Community Plan (2002) to re-prioritize activities to meet current needs.
Six Homeless Counts completed using over 800 volunteers.
Commissioned the 2004 Edmonton Homelessness Study
Supported the "Building Successful Partnerships Community Gathering and Trade Show" with over 180 stakeholders and participants in attendance.
Funded the "Building a Foundation: A Portfolio of Innovative Approaches to Affordable Housing and Homelessness in Edmonton" study.
Funded a review of the literature for homeless youth in Edmonton.