By Derek Cornet

Tiny house village suggested as way to address La Ronge homelessness

Apr 24, 2018 | 2:00 PM

A tiny house village was proposed as a way to combat homelessness at the La Ronge and District Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting on Monday.

Newly-elected treasurer Anne Calladine, who also serves as the chairperson of the La Ronge Community Development Task Force, approached the microphone after a chamber member in attendance asked how the organization planned on revitalizing the downtown core. In reference to the homeless people who are seen on the streets and parks throughout the day, she said tiny houses could be a solution to address it.

“We start by helping them just get back on their feet, so they can become independent and contributing members of society,” Calladine said. “In this gated community, for lack of a better term, we make it beautiful and add park benches. It would be such an amazing place they could take pride in, they would have a purpose and they could be safe.”

For those living in the village, Calladine noted services could be offered in areas such as mental health and addictions to help the homeless get off of the street. She also added it would take a holistic approach with several groups such as Scattered Sites, the Ministry of Social Services and industry partners for the idea to become a reality. Calladine believes such as project would work in La Ronge as she’s done research about similar locations in the United States which achieved successful results.

“I would love to hear people’s ideas and feedback about what you think,” she said.

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While Scattered Sites community outreach worker Jackie Ballantyne wasn’t at the meeting, she said the organization would support the creation of a tiny house village. Scattered Sites offers services for the homeless, addicts or those with mental health issues, and she noted a shelter open from November until the end of March was well used. Overall, Ballantyne said 83 people spent one night or more at the shelter which accepts a maximum of 13 clients per night.

Ballantyne added she was happy to hear the idea was brought up at the meeting, as she said developing tiny houses has been brought to the attention of the tri-community before. She hopes this time, however, it gains more traction and become more than just a thought.

“If you’re not worrying about a place to sleep, then your mental and physical resources aren’t going to be used up every day just to try stay alive,” she said. “Scattered Sites would be more than willing to support the idea.”

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno