North Battleford to get eight supportive housing units

The Government of Saskatchewan is contributing $650,000 toward eight new housing units in North Battleford for people experiencing homelessness. The province announced the project with the Battlefords Indian Métis Friendship Centre in a release on Sept. 29.

Construction is underway on a single detached home that will hold the eight units. Each will have a bedroom and a private bathroom. Two are designed to be fully accessible for people with disabilities.

Residents will share a kitchen and a programming space. According to the release, the building is expected to be finished in early 2027.

The friendship centre will run the home day to day and provide culturally appropriate support to residents. The release says this is the second eight-unit project the province has developed with the organization.

Social Services Minister Terry Jenson said projects like this give people a chance to find community and stability. He said the partnership shows the government working with Indigenous partners to keep people connected to housing.

Jackie Kennedy, the centre’s executive director, said the program gives some of the hardest-to-house people in the Battlefords a safe, warm home and links to services. She said residents come to support one another like family.

The provincial money comes from $10 million committed over two years to the Rental Development Program. The release also lists grants from the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Community Development Corporation and from Reaching Home through Métis Nation Saskatchewan, plus a land grant from the friendship centre.