Personal identification for homeless individuals and families is a key issue. Under the provincial 10-year plan to end homelessness, an identified strategy is to “[s]implify personal identification requirements for accessing programs and services.”

The Pilot Process

In 2010, as part of a cross-ministerial initiative, the ministries of Alberta Housing and Urban Affairs and Service Alberta developed new forms and processes to allow shelters and homeless-serving agencies to serve as a homeless person’s proof of legal Alberta residency. Under the new process, help is also available to obtain documentation to certify an individual’s identity, and to provide assistance to individuals so they can obtain identification through an Alberta registry agency office.

A pilot was planned to test and evaluate the effectiveness of these two new processes prior to province-wide implementation. Boyle Street Community Services, Hope Mission, Homeward Trust and Accu-Search Inc. participated locally over the summer months of 2010.

Additionally, training to provide the service was offered to government-funded shelters and other homeless-serving agencies across the province in fall 2010.

Implementation

The initiative was implemented throughout the province in October 2010.