Saskatoon activists hold smudge walk for city's homeless population

Over a dozen activists held a smudge walk in Saskatoon on Saturday to bring awareness to the city's homelessness crisis.

The rally, organized by housing advocate David Fineday, walked for several blocks through the city, pausing at intersections for prayer.

"I want to pray for all these people, and pray that we don't lose any more," said Fineday.

According to the City of Saskatoon's most recent point-in-time count last October, there were 1,499 people experiencing homelessness. That's nearly triple the number found in the previous count in 2022, which identified 550.

"I'm here to remember my son who was found frozen behind a church on 20th Street here in Saskatoon two years ago," said Joyce Head, who walked in the rally.

"I'm walking in memory of him, and for empathy for those with addiction."

A key point of contention for the activists was the lack of overnight warming shelters in the city.

"You only have two overnight shelters," said Chris Moyah, another rally participant. 

"Those two locations are only in the west side area. I think we need to expand that."

The City of Saskatoon's Winter Emergency Response Plan lists 10 warming centres in the city. Only the Saskatoon Indian and Métis Friendship Centre at 168 Wall St. and St. Mary Parish Hall at 211 Ave. O South are open at night.

"It's a continued injustice. Nobody does anything," said Kiyari McNab, who joined Moyah and Head on the walk through the city. 

"The government can do something, the city can do something. There's funding, there's everything there for it. But they're continuously not doing anything, and that's the problem." 

After the December point in time count was released, Saskatoon mayor Cynthia Block called on the provincial and federal governments to better support the city's homeless crisis.

"Anybody who has been living in our city for the last few years has been able to see how much the situation on the ground has changed," she said. "We can't do it alone."