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 […]Read More
How do we create a housing continuum in Lethbridge? That question was posed at a recent SACPA session. According to the CAO of the Lethbridge Housing Authority, Robin James, she says there is a need for transitional housing that is currently facing our homeless population and it’s time to change the conversation surrounding our most […]Read More
The Lethbridge Shelter is officially under new management. Operations were transferred over to the Blood Tribe Department of Health on Monday. Bill Ginther from the neighboring Lethbridge Soup Kitchen believes this was a good move. “Most of our guests and their clients are indigenous. So this makes sense. You have indigenous people working with […]Read More
A man who fights for the homeless in our city says the Alberta government isn’t doing enough to help our most vulnerable. Bill Ginther, the executive director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen took to Facebook and blasted Alberta’s Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Nathan Neudorf. Ginther called on the province to do more to address […]Read More
Here in Lethbridge our only shelter has been full and over capacity during the last few nights due to the extreme cold weather. Staff from Alpha House Society say they do not turn away any homeless that are in need. There are also currently talks to have the Blood Tribe Department of Health take over […]Read More
A Lethbridge non-for-profit group says they are in need of donations especially with the big dump of snow we received overnight. Streets Alive Mission’s pin bank, which offers clothing to our most vulnerable, is lacking in some essential items to help many during the cold winter. Jesse Tabor, Supervisor for the pin bank says they […]Read More
A massive cleanup at a Lethbridge tent encampment was completed on Wednesday. A fence was also installed at the tent site by the Civic Centre Track here in our city. The encampment was also the site of a shooting earlier this year in July when two men got into a heated altercation. It resulted in […]Read More
As the temperature drops outside, a couple of non-for-profits in our city say they are seeing more people are using their services. Bill Ginther with the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen believes the increase is due to the encampment situation right now. “This morning for an example, we served breakfast at seven and we had 147 people, […]Read More
Bill Ginther, the Executive Director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen believes the new homeless initiative from the province won’t do much as he says he hasn’t seen much action from the province or city. Ginther believes a better alternative would be to implement a long-term housing solution, especially during the winter months. “We can solve […]Read More
Over the weekend, the province announced new funding through an action plan that will target homelessness in Alberta that includes one million dollars and 70 additional winter shelter spaces. Premier Jason Kenney says through the government’s Homelessness Task Force, they believed more enhancements were needed to address the issue. “The money will used to […]Read More
BCN’s Hal Roberts chatted with UCP leadership hopeful and Fort McMurray/Lac La Biche MLA, Brian Jean, about what he would bring to the table as Alberta Premier. They discussed crime, opioid crisis, agriculture, supporting seniors and health care. The UCP will choose its new leader on October 6th. Watch the full interview here.Read More
The City is continuing its efforts to handle the tent encampment situation. Wednesday morning, residents of the site were handed notices to vacate the area under the Petty Trespass Act. Both residents in and out of the site are not happy with the action being taken against tent encampment residents. Police and bylaw officers can […]Read More
The number of tents popping up at those encampment sites appear to be multiplying. While many residents in and out of the site are upset at the City’s handling of the situation, one homeless man says a bigger part of the problem is the lack of resources available, especially to single males.Read More
Residents and protesters at a Lethbridge tent encampment site prepared themselves to confront city clean-up crews who arrived at the site Thursday morning. They believed the workers were coming to tear down the tent encampment site as part of a $230,000 allocation City Council recently approved on Tuesday, to be used for encampment clean-up. The […]Read More
One Lethbridge woman says she is outraged at the city’s handling of the tent encampment situation. Sarah Villebrun who attended Tuesday’s council meeting says it’s frustrating to see the city just shuffle the problem as there is another cleanup effort going to be taking place Thursday. She says the best solution would be to find […]Read More
This heat can be unbearable for some, and many don’t have access to shelter or a cooling centre so to help with the heat, there is a city-wide water bottle drive taking place. Especially with the recent tent encampments, the Interfaith Food Bank hopes this will provide some help to those who need water but […]Read More
Lethbridge has been dealing with an issue of many tent encampments popping up near some downtown facilities. The city currently does not have long-term housing solutions for the most vulnerable. In a special feature, BCN’s Angela Stewart spoke to some of the homeless who say they want to see city officials step up and offer […]Read More
Downtown Lethbridge has been dealing with a number of the people camped out in tents as the city does not currently have a transitional housing option. Lethbridge West MLA Shannon Phillips says the city and the province are not working in tandem to come up with a strategy. She says something needs to be done. […]Read More
Many of the most vulnerable in Lethbridge have set up tent encampments outside of two downtown facilities because of the lack of city housing support. As BCN’s Angela Stewart explains this is putting a strain on the facilities and some of the vulnerable say they would like to see more support from city officials. Read More
A volunteer-based program in Lethbridge called The Watch continues to make the rounds in the downtown core assisting locals while also providing a level of safety for some who may need a walking partner. As BCN’s Angela Stewart explains, the program launched by the Lethbridge Police Service, has developed quite a bit since it launched […]Read More
The head of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen says the city is not doing enough to protect our vulnerable population. Bill Ginther says when the city shot down the Mustard Seed’s proposal of a safe sober shelter, it put more people at risk. Last year Lethbridge city council voted 7-2 to not move forward with the […]Read More
The ‘5 Days for the Homeless’ campaign is on now until March 18th. This year the event will be a virtual affair. Organizers from the The University of Lethbridge Dhillon Business Students’ Association say it is a way to educate people about our city’s homeless population. Students sleep outside in cardboard boxes for five days […]Read More
The Sage Clan in Lethbridge made an appeal for blankets and warm winter clothing on social media saying the city shut down their emergency shelter when it was minus 32 or minus 41 with the wind chill. The warming shelter is needed to protect the city’s homeless. Thursday city officials responded by saying the city […]Read More
The winter season is fast approaching, and with that comes the harsh snow and colder temperatures. Alvin Mills is the founder of the grassroots group called Kindness To Others. He has been working on the front lines helping out our homeless for the past decade. Mills is a recovered addict and says he knows the […]Read More
Newly elected Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen says when he was out door knocking during the last municipal election the biggest concern he heard from residents in Lethbridge was safety. He explains in more detail during our recent interview. Read More
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