EDMONTON — A former president of the Calgary Homeless Foundation says he is deeply concerned by the Alberta government’s recent decision to overhaul the funding scheme for organizations providing services to homeless people.

Tim Richter, who now leads the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, a national charity, says the change is dangerous and will lead to more people falling through the cracks.

Under the current model, the foundation and six other non-profit and other organizations receive a lump sum of government money, which they distribute to smaller organizations.

But provincial Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon said Friday that the government plans to ditch that model, and distribute the funding itself through existing government grants.

Richter says under the current model, the larger organizations act as local hubs, distributing funding to smaller organizations in their area and ensuring they’re all working together.

He worries that under the new model, that unity and communication will be lost.

However, Nixon says the agencies receiving funding to dole out are essentially acting as a middlemen, and it will be more efficient to eliminate that step.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2024.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press