Former Mayor Spearman on homelessness in Lethbridge

Former Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman was back in our city last Thursday for a presentation at SACPA on what he learned about finances during his time as mayor.

Spearman was also asked during the session for solutions on Lethbridge’s homelessness issue and why it seems to stay stagnate compared to other bigger cities in Alberta like Calgary and Edmonton.

“It’s a little bit more our own fault. In those cities, they have community organizations funded with business and from the community to come up with possible solutions for homelessness. And they have projects that they’ve built that came out of these committees. I don’t think we’ve got to the point where our committees will recommend a homelessness solution and actually implement it. We’re still in the stage where the committee can go only so far. When the plans become public, there’s a negative reaction and we struggle to go forward.”

Spearman served as the Mayor of Lethbridge from 2013 to 2021 and was a long-time trustee on Lethbridge’s Holy Spirit Catholic School Division board.