Edmonton women’s shelter closes after city declines to renew lease | CBC News
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Edmonton has lost nearly 100 shelter spaces after a local women’s shelter had to close its doors.
According to a memo to city council, dated Feb. 5, city administration decided not to extend the lease the Elizabeth Fry Society of Northern Alberta had for its Community of Hope Emergency Shelter, in northeast Edmonton.
The organization — which helps women, girls and gender-diverse people potentially at risk of being criminalized — is working toward establishing a new shelter site, but details are still evolving, said executive director Toni Sinclair in a statement to CBC News.
“Our commitment to serving some of the most marginalized members of our community has not wavered,” she said.
The society had been operating the temporary women’s shelter on a previously vacant city lot in Edmonton’s northeast since April 2024. According to Sinclair, it sheltered more than 3,400 people during its two years.
After first receiving the land from the city in December 2023, the organization twice asked to extend its lease, which was originally set to expire in November 2025.
The second request, which would have pushed the lease expiry date to July 2026, was denied.
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The decision “is expected to reduce uncertainty and concern in the community” about future development on that plot of land, according to the memo.
But the memo adds that, once the society finds a new shelter site, the City of Edmonton can help expedite required development permit processes and safety code inspections.
Shelter location not meant to be long-term: city
The shelter was located at 504 Belvedere Way N.W., the site of Station Pointe, a long-stagnant set of empty city-owned plots awaiting development.
The city initially leased the land to the Elizabeth Fry Society to address a need for additional emergency homeless spaces in Edmonton, city spokesperson Brent Wittmeier said in a statement. He noted the city does not usually provide municipality-owned land for such shelters.
Wittmeier acknowledged that the shelter provides an important service, but said the lot was never intended for long-term use as a shelter.
The now-vacant plot is currently on sale, according to Wittmeier.
The Community of Hope Emergency Shelter — which Sinclair also noted was in a temporary location — has previously been the scene of social disorder.
In November, Coun. Aaron Paquette, who represents where the shelter is located, told CBC News he had received reports that open-air drug use and physical violence nearby had impacted surrounding businesses.
At the time, the provincial government said the Elizabeth Fry Society had not received complaints from the City of Edmonton about the shelter. It also said that the shelter had met all the required standards for provincially-funded shelters.
Alberta’s Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services did not immediately respond to CBC’s request for comment.
Wittmeier said city administration is now gathering data on calls for service to emergency shelters across the city, and the findings will be shared with council in September.