A food (non-perishable), clothing, and bottle drive is underway in Lloydminster & Vermilion until April 20.
Lloydminster & Vermilion for Equity or LVE is leading the collection effort at locations in both communities.
Co-founder, Tigra-Lee Campbell, says their Street Team offers supports to unhoused people at Residents in Recovery on Sundays by way of meals, showers, and clothing. The recent Housing Assessment Survey in Lloydminster identified 193 people in October 2023 as being homeless.
“The numbers are shocking. But being a frontline worker and working with the unhoused, it wasn’t too much of a shocker. We know that several people are chronically and visibly unhoused. That doesn’t take into account the amount of people that are couch-surfing or just staying with friends and family until they can get a place of their own,” says Campbell.
Campbell also notes that it’s not just the amount of people who are on the streets, but it’s also the ability to access available housing. The Housing Needs Survey shows that Lloydminster will require 2,302 new houses by 2031 and that from 2016 to 2021, 555 dwellings were built in Lloydminster. Under transitional housing, Lloydminster needs 10-20 more transitional houses to meet a growing need.
“We are seeing a greater need for low-income and low-barrier housing, whether that’s social housing or transitional housing,” says Campbell.
Drop boxes in Lloydminster for clothing and non-perishable food are at Residents in Recovery (4804 50 Ave.), Emco (5901 47 St. B), Servus Sports Centre, Libby Young Centre (5125 39 St.), Coven Hair Studio (5303 50 Ave.), and in Vermilion at Simple Pleasures (4924 50 Ave.).
On April 20, donations will be accepted in Lloydminster at City Hall and Vermilion Pollinator Gardens from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bottle donations will be collected by messaging LVE through their social media.