ROB MURRAY: I’m speaking with Sean Krausert from St. Michael’s Anglican Church, as well as Michelle Rhode. We’re here to talk about something new coming to Canmore called the REST Program. Michelle, maybe give us a brief overview of what this program is about?

MICHELLE RHODE: This came about from a discussion with the Bow Valley Homeless 2 Housing Coalition (H2HC). As this discussion started moving forward there was a grant that became available. Sean led the discussion with the church to talk about space and looking at supporting those who need somewhere to sleep at night, providing a temporary shelter.

RM: When does it get off the ground?

MR: We’ve received a federal grant, and we will open March 1st. We will run it for the month of March as a pilot program, and if we receive additional funding and or there’s an identified need we will look at the month of April as well. Then we’ll be reviewing this over the summer and seeing what the need is going forward.

RM: Canmore is the kind of community you don’t walk down Main Street and see like a lot of panhandlers, per se, but Sean, I know you’ve been really engaged with the issue of homelessness in this community for a number of years. Is it still an active problem in our community?

SEAN KRAUSERT: Absolutely, and with COVID probably even more so. Homelessness takes a different appearance in different communities and it’s very much a hidden problem here in Canmore. You have people who are couch surfing, living in their vehicles, living rough. There’s definitely a need. The studies that have been done by H2HC have supported that, as well as anecdotal evidence. Of course, the only way to truly test if there’s a need that can be satisfied by an emergency shelter is to. have a pilot project.

MR: There were two main studies done. There’s one done in the spring of 2018 and one done in the fall. From those respondents, we found out that 80% of them responded that they have unstable housing, and that is alarming. There is this issue, as Sean mentioned, with the hidden homelessness, where you’ll see someone camping in the woods in minus 20. It’s something that we really want to try and address and support people who want to come in from out of the cold for a night.

SK: One day, a few years back in January, it was about minus 25. It was a Sunday morning and I was walking up to the church to open it up, and I saw that there was something next to the door. I thought something had been delivered. Then I realized it wasn’t something, it was a someone under a blanket. Then as I got really close, I realized it was actually two people. It was a young couple who had huddled out of the wind right next to the door, and I just kept on thinking how absolutely frustrating it must have been to be on the opposite side of that pane of glass from a warm, sheltered, empty hall. I’m so grateful that the hall will be utilized in this way so that there won’t have to be others that are huddled in the cold, like that young couple.

RM: How is this going to work?

SK: We want to point out that all of our guests are people that are already in the community. These are our neighbors. Many of them are employed. It’s just that the cost of living is so high that it does put them in a precarious situation.

Every night between 9 and 11 is check-in time. We will have paid trained staff on site. They’ll set them up with a place to sleep and a designated washroom. All of this is going to be done under a strict adherence to COVID guidelines set out by Alberta Health Services for shelters. Then they’re going to hopefully have a really good night’s sleep. At seven in the morning the program will be closing up. We will take a maximum of five people. We’re very interested to see what sort of benefit this can be for the community.

RM: You’re operating this shelter out of our church. Is this a program for Christians, or what’s the criteria there?

SK: I’m really glad you asked that Rob. It’s actually open to everyone and there’s no agenda attached whatsoever. As people will know from the Food and Friends Program that has operated successfully from St. Michael’s for the last seven years, serving almost 90,000 dinners. We are there to meet needs of the people that arrive, not the agendas of anybody that’s putting it on. You’re welcome, regardless of your background, your abilities (we have barrier free access), your status, your gender, your sexual orientation, your age, your religion or beliefs. You’re not going to be pressured or be subject to any agenda.

RM: Is there a place online people can go to find out more information about the REST program?

MR: We have a Facebook page. I also want to point out that we have a number of incredible partners who have come to the table. I won’t be able to mention all of them, but St. Michael’s Anglican Church has really stepped up for this, and so has the Town of Canmore – they’re operating with a fiscal agent on this grant. Also, the community. I am amazed at how many messages I’ve had from people who want to help, people who want to donate, people who want to volunteer. This community has really stepped up through this pandemic and I’m really grateful for that. A lot of folks do have questions about what it will look like for them in their neighbourhood. However, we are also getting a lot of support.