The encampment response process is managed by the City of Lethbridge cross corporately in partnership with the Lethbridge Police Service. Further, it is coordinated with key community partners including but not limited to Lethbridge Housing Authority, Blood Tribe Department of Health, and the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone/Clean Sweep Program.

The Encampment Response Process Flow Chart represents the process flow from reporting, to triage, response, monitoring, reporting, and continuous improvement. The process will remain the same despite the number of resources. What will be impacted or vary is the Level of Service (LOS) of the response.

There are several ways you can support our encampment response and help connect individuals to the services they need.

Get help

The following contacts provide outreach services:

• Call 2-1-1 for 24/7 Crisis Diversion – non-emergency support for referrals to community resources including shelter and mental health
• Call 825-399-SAFE for the Safe Community Call Centre (SCCC) – report biohazards, needle debris, public intoxication, encampments and street behaviours
• Call 403-332-0722 for the Needle Pickup Hotline
• Call 403-892-3707 for the Diversion Outreach Team – provides transportation and access to community supports for vulnerable individuals

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lethbridge and District (BBBS) provides a variety of mentoring programs reflecting the diverse needs of children, youth, and volunteers in the community. Children may seek a positive role model in their life due to low self-esteem, loneliness, inability to make a friend or simply needing an extra person in their support network.

The Blood Tribe’s Blackfoot Resource Hub (BRH) supports housing service providers, the Blackfoot community and other Indigenous peoples to ensure that culturally appropriate programming is available and accessible throughout the City of Lethbridge. The BRH provides cultural competency training for service providers and serves as a centralized access point for Blackfoot resources. Through the Blackfoot Resource Hub, individuals in the community and service providers can connect to traditional Blackfoot knowledge, protocols and Elders. This can help them integrate Indigenous ways of knowing into service delivery and daily practices.

The Boys and Girls Club of Lethbridge (BGCL) Youth Centre provides programming for youth that is free of charge and designed to build the potential of each youth. BGCL Youth Centre reduces barriers to services by offering a shuttle to west and south Lethbridge to transport youth to programs. BGCL offers flexible drop-in programs, urban skills programming, structured after-school programming and summer programs. Programs are based on youth needs and interests and are provided in an environment that is positive and healthy. 

Through research and education, Building Brains Together (BBT) builds adult capabilities to improve brain development and executive functions in children. The program operates under three primary goals:

• To enhance executive function (EF) in children
• To provide workshops and other professional development opportunities around brain development to community organizations that serve families and children
• To share information with caregivers and educators

The Canadian Mental Health Association, Alberta South Region (CMHA, ASR) is the lead agency for the implementation and continuous improvement of the Lethbridge Integrated Coordinated Access (ICA) system. CMHA, ASR works with the City, its funded service providers and other community partners to tie together thousands of independent programs, organizations, and services into a coordinated system.  

CMHA, ASR offers a variety of supportive services and programs, including:

• Crisis services
• Housing services
• Outreach and education programs
• Peer support programs
• Youth programs

The Clean Sweep Program (CSP) is funded by the City of Lethbridge and managed and operated by the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ). The program seeks to positively contribute to a clean, safe, and vibrant urban core, with specific attention to the Downtown District. Core services include garbage cleanup, sweeping sidewalks, shoveling snow, basic landscaping, and other related needs. In addition to keeping the urban core clean, the CSP is dedicated to offering individuals, many of whom are experiencing homelessness, the opportunity to engage in barrier-free, entry-level employment related activities such as those conducted within Downtown Lethbridge. The CSP works with other organizations as part of the Community Wellbeing and Safety Strategy (CWSS) to bring an end to homelessness in Lethbridge.

The Family Centre Society of Southern Alberta is a non-profit organization providing a range of services to children, youth and families in southwestern Alberta. Family Centre empowers children and families through programs, resources and connections.

Programs and services include:

• Information and referrals
• Early childhood play programming and developmental screening
• Parent education and one on one support
• Family support services including subsidized counselling, groups, All My Relations Indigenous parenting and youth programming, and the Interfaith Chinook Country Kitchen programs

Programs and services are offered at three locations: Downtown at Melcor Centre, located at 200 4 Ave. S., the north branch at Interfaith Food Bank, located at 1103 3 Ave. N. and the west branch at the Coalbanks Elementary School, located at 230 Coalbanks Blvd. W.

Operating since 1994, Habitat for Humanity Lethbridge’s mission is to provide decent, affordable housing for lower income Lethbridge families from any ethnic, social, or religious background. The organization selects and builds one home per year for a family that would not qualify for a conventional mortgage and supports them in achieving home ownership, thereby stabilizing the family’s housing while supporting the local economy by contracting and purchasing from local vendors.

The Holy Spirit Catholic School Division operates the Family First Facilitator (FFF) program in district schools. This program takes a preventive and early intervention approach to enable children, youth and families to acquire the skills and knowledge to address challenges and increase their capacity to care for themselves and others. The FFF program also works with families outside of the classroom through home visits to provide parent education, system navigation support and connection to the Lethbridge Integrated Coordinated Access (ICA) system for families with greater needs.

The Interfaith Food Bank Society of Lethbridge (Interfaith) has been providing Emergency Food Services to the Lethbridge community and surrounding area for over 30 years. As a charitable, non-profit organization, Interfaith is eligible for project specific grants but does not have access to long-term sustainable funding options and are not funded through government departments or programs. Interfaith programming and services rely heavily on community support in the way of donations and fundraising. Interfaith works in partnership with many other community organizations and food banks to offer community members the best options for their unique circumstances. Being a point of connection for those in need in the community, Interfaith connects those they serve with resources that help to address the underlying issues leading to food insecurity, as well as offer program space for agencies to provide outreach services on site. Lethbridge Food Bank and Interfaith Food Bank work in tandem on multiple initiatives and projects, notably: Christmas Hope, Ready Set Go, Target Hunger, City Wide Water Drive, Food Share Programs, and many other initiatives that address food insecurity in our community.

The Lethbridge Economic Assistance Fund (LEAF) program is designed to assist individuals with the opportunity to stabilize their finances while maintaining affordable housing or to prevent eviction from an existing home. This program is intended to fill recognized housing affordability gaps in our community. The LEAF program does this by providing a monthly rental subsidy or a one-time issue to cover the costs associated with move-ins or continued tenancy.

The Lethbridge Food Bank Society has been providing Emergency Food Services to the Lethbridge community and surrounding area for over 30 years. As a charitable non-profit organization, Lethbridge Food Bank rely heavily on support from the community and financial grants and are not funded through government departments or programs. Lethbridge Food Bank works in partnership with other local agencies and food banks to bring consistency and dependability to the community regarding access to food for those who do not have adequate financial resources. Through a partnership with Interfaith Food Bank, food hampers and services have been standardized to allow clients to have versatility in how and where they receive their food support. Lethbridge Food Bank and Interfaith Food Bank work in tandem on multiple initiatives and projects, notably: Christmas Hope, Ready Set Go, Target Hunger, City Wide Water Drive, Food Share Programs, and many other initiatives that address food insecurity in our community. By working in concert with each other, both food banks gain the ability to receive larger donations shared between the agencies and reduce overlap in services.

The Lethbridge School Division’s Family Support Program takes a preventive and early intervention approach to enable children, youth, and families to gain the skills and knowledge to address challenges and increase their capacity to care for themselves and others. It provides in-school programs and services to support children and division staff and also builds rapport with identified families in need of assistance to help them access resources and services in the community.

The Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization (LSCO) offers a variety of programs and services that support seniors and caregivers of seniors in the community. Programming is focused on supporting engagement in the community, socialization and participation in LSCO organized activities, classes and events.

They also offer an In-Home Supports program, which include Meals on Wheels, subsidized lawn and snow removal and subsidized homemaking services.

The LSCO works closely with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Adaptive Case Management (ACM) team to support case management, service delivery and senior-specific system navigation and referrals.

The Lethbridge Soup Kitchen Association (2013) has been providing hot, nutritious meals to those in need in Lethbridge for over 35 years. The Lethbridge Soup Kitchen has a mission to assist in alleviating poverty through the operation of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen and creating public awareness of the needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness and/or have limited access to adequate financial resources. Through ongoing support from the community and a strong volunteer base, the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen operates 365 days/year and delivers hot meals three times each day at no cost to those who attend.

The More For Less Thrift Stores Ltd. (MFL) is a social enterprise Company with an environmental focus to divert waste but also acts as a training site to provide meaningful work to individuals with developmental disabilities, namely through initiatives of Peak Vocational and Support Services.

The Nord-Bridge Senior Citizens Association provides educational, social and support services that aim to foster a vibrant seniors' community that is healthy, physically fit, and socially active, including:

• Tax and benefits assistance
• Transportation services
• Volunteering opportunities for seniors in the community

The Opokaa'sin Early Intervention Society works alongside other service providers as Population Support Navigators for Indigenous caregivers, children and youth in our community. The Population Support Navigators through Opokaa'sin develop and provide Indigenous cultural competency training to other community organizations. They are also responsible for informing service providers of community trends, best practices relevant to the population and working closely with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Adaptive Case Management (ACM) team to support case management for Indigenous families.

The Streets Alive Family Support Association manages a variety of donations and outreach in our community.

They offer trusteeship services that focus on assisting individuals with financial management and planning support to help them prevent or exit homelessness.

Repurpose Centre

The Streets Alive Repurpose Donation Centre supports the Lethbridge Integrated Coordinated Access (ICA) system of providers, such as the Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Consortium and the CMHA HomeBASE Adaptive Case Management (ACM) team to support individuals in finding and maintaining housing stability through the distribution of free household goods and furniture to those in need. Streets Alive also provides access to bed bug covers and treatment.

Volunteer Lethbridge is a professional organization that connects volunteers, non-profit organizations, community members and supporters (businesses, funders, and government) to opportunities that positively impact community well-being. Volunteer Lethbridge offers members of the community a way to match their skills, abilities, and resources where they are needed most.

Wood's Homes provides treatment and support to children, youth and families with mental health needs. They also develop and provide youth competency training for community organizations in an effort to ensure that youth-specific needs are being appropriately met in the community.