For those sheltering outdoors, the City remains committed to compassionately supporting access to safe, warm options that protect their dignity and well-being this winter.
The City of Edmonton is committed to the safety, dignity, and well-being of all Edmontonians, especially those most vulnerable to the harsh realities of homelessness. With winter’s extreme cold, anyone sheltering outside is in an urgent situation and faces life-threatening risks such as frostbite, hypothermia and even death.
Internally, our integrated Winter Safety Response plan brings together the coordinated efforts of multiple branches, sections and program areas within the City. These areas contribute their specialized efforts to ensure that vulnerable Edmontonians have access to essential resources throughout the winter months.
Sheltering
During Edmonton's harsh winter, shelters provide more than warmth and safety - they offer a place of refuge and support.
Staying in a shelter is not only safer but provides individuals with essential connections to support services, often serving as a first step on the journey toward stable housing.
Shelters in Edmonton are funded by the Government of Alberta, which is responsible for monitoring capacity and utilization to ensure there are enough spaces this winter for those in need.
For more information on shelter locations, visit Government of Alberta's Shelter Resource.
Sheltering in Public Spaces
Public spaces and waste bins are not safe for sheltering. Seeking refuge in bins can be deadly due to waste collection processes and hazardous materials. Similarly, transit facilities are not designed or intended for overnight sheltering.
As winter sets in, some individuals may seek refuge in waste bins, which can be deadly. City waste collectors do their best to check bins before they are emptied because collection trucks pose serious risks from compaction and hazardous materials inside, like glass and chemicals. The City, with social services, is raising awareness of these dangers and providing safer options.
If you see someone near a bin, please call 211 and press 3 for the Crisis Diversion Team, available 24/7 to connect individuals to safe, warm spaces.
Extreme Weather Response
The City remains committed to making sure that everyone has access to safe, warm spaces this winter. By collaborating with partners, the City is doing as much as possible to ensure no one is left without the help they need during the harsh winter months.
From providing overnight winter shelter shuttles to help those who need it get to emergency shelters, and accessing City recreation facilities and libraries to keep warm, the City is doing its part to keep Edmontonians safe through the winter.
Learn more about our Extreme Cold Weather Response.
Wound Care
Healthier Together is a comprehensive collaboration between the City, Alberta Health Service and local social agencies that seeks to remove obstacles to essential health services.
Healthier Together’s weekly events provide individuals with health resources such as hygiene kits, wound care supplies and wellness education, empowering people to take charge of their health.
Between May 21 and October 15, 2024, the Healthier Together wound care pop-up provided care to 1,026 individual visits.
Wound Care Pop-ups
Note: Healthier Together wound care pop-up at Butler Park (157 Street and Stony Plain Road) has been extended until March 30, 2025.
Pop-ups occur every Tuesday, weather permitting (cancelled if temperatures reach -30°C with wind chill).
The following services are available:
- Wound care
- Blood pressure and sugar monitoring
- Health assessments
- Education
- Referrals
Shigella in Vulnerable Communities
From the onset of the Shigella outbreak, the City of Edmonton has partnered with Alberta Health Services and local organizations to implement measures aimed at controlling the spread of the infection in the inner city.
These measures include working with our partners to improve access to hygiene items and deploying staff to both permanent and mobile washrooms. These attendants provide hand sanitizer, sanitary wipes, clean clothing and bottled water to those using the facilities, ensuring immediate access to critical hygiene resources.
Encampment Response Team
The Encampment Response Team (ERT) plays a central role in addressing encampments on public land, ensuring safety and providing compassionate support to individuals experiencing homelessness.
Team Responsibilities
Composed of Community Peace Officers, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) and City Operations, the ERT responds to encampments by:
- Logging community concerns
- Assessing each site’s status (occupied or vacant)
- Prioritizing responses based on community health and safety considerations
While closures of encampments are governed by lawful placement under City bylaws and other legislation, the team’s assessment of risks - such as fire hazards, biohazards and proximity to vulnerable locations - ensures that the highest priority risks are attended to first. This approach aims to protect both vulnerable individuals and the broader community.
Encampment Closures
During an encampment closure, the ERT offers individuals onsite support, resources, and transportation to the Government of Alberta’s Navigation and Support Centre, where they can access additional services. Once the site is vacant, the ERT coordinates with City cleanup crews to clear and sanitize the site, ensuring it is safe and usable for the public. The team’s work balances enforcement with compassion, focusing on both immediate community safety and long-term support for vulnerable individuals.
Encampment closures proceed only when sufficient shelter space is available. The Government of Alberta provides occupancy data to the ERT as shelter capacity reaches 90%, teams receive an email prompting them to verify availability before any closure.
Why it matters
People living in encampments often rely on fires and flaring propane tanks to stay warm, significantly increasing the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, explosion and uncontrolled fires. Tents are highly flammable and can become engulfed in seconds.
Tragically, in past years, unhoused Edmontonians have lost their lives in tent fires. Fires in encampments endanger not only those staying there but also pose wildfire risks, threaten surrounding communities and can damage public infrastructure.
Why we care
Fires in encampments are a grave risk that can lead to injury, loss of life and widespread harm to the community. The City is deeply committed to preventing these tragedies by providing safe, warm alternatives protecting vulnerable individuals from severe danger of fire while safeguarding public spaces and the safety of surrounding neighbourhoods.
Why it matters
Edmonton’s winters are harsh, and individuals staying in encampments face life-threatening conditions due to exposure to freezing temperatures. This can result in frostbite, hypothermia and even death. A typical tent does not provide adequate protection from these risks without the use of heating or flame for additional warmth.
Why we care
No one should be left to endure these extreme conditions without the support they need. Ensuring the safety and dignity of vulnerable individuals by providing warm shelters and spaces is key to preventing suffering and saving lives.
Why it matters
Public health experts have advised that infected bodily waste at encampments can quickly lead to disease outbreaks, such as shigella, norovirus, campylobacter and E. coli. These infections can extend beyond encampments and enter the broader community.
Why we care
Everyone deserves access to basic sanitation and health care, regardless of their living situation. While the City’s Public Washroom Strategy seeks to provide access to sanitation facilities in public spaces, providing sanitation services to individual encampment sites is not feasible. Ensuring safe and hygienic environments is critical for protecting the health of individuals and preventing broader public health issues.
Why it matters
Encampments expose occupants to ongoing risks, including violence, theft, and intimidation. When encampments grow in size and complexity, they can attract predatory behaviours, with incidents of individuals being charged for tent space or water access on City land. These conditions compound the trauma and hardship of living without secure shelter.
Why we care
The safety and well-being of everyone, including the most vulnerable Edmontonians, is a top priority. The City’s outreach and partnerships with social agencies aim to protect individuals from harm and offer safer, dignified alternatives to staying in encampments.
Why it matters
Data shows people experiencing homelessness are at a greater risk of drug poisonings and overdoses. Unsheltered people are more remote from critical emergency services and therefore are more at risk. Fentanyl and other opioids have an anaesthetic effect on the body which complicates an individual’s ability to thermoregulate and feel pain. This can aggravate the risks of fire and frostbite when sheltering outdoors, leading to life-altering or deadly consequences.
Why we care
Preventing overdoses and drug poisoning deaths is critical. By funding outreach teams, the City works to ensure individuals struggling with substance use can access life-saving interventions and support.
Why it matters
As encampments grow in size, they pose increased safety and health risks for both occupants and the surrounding community. Larger encampments can attract criminal activity, create fire hazards, and generate sanitation challenges, which can lead to disease spread and environmental damage. Managing these risks becomes more complex as encampment size increases, requiring more resources and coordination to ensure public safety.
Why we care
The City is committed to maintaining safe and healthy environments for all residents, including those experiencing homelessness. By addressing the unique challenges posed by larger encampments, we aim to reduce risks for individuals living in these spaces and for the broader community. Ensuring safe, manageable spaces is essential to protecting the health, dignity, and well-being of everyone involved.
Why it matters
Individuals living in encampments may struggle to access emergency services during crises, such as during health emergencies or extreme weather events.
Why we care
Everyone deserves access to emergency care. The City aims to reduce barriers to life-saving services, especially during the winter months when conditions can quickly become dangerous. When encampments are in inaccessible locations, occupants and first responders are put at risk.
Why it matters
Encampments near schools, sports fields, playgrounds, daycare centres, bridges, and high-traffic areas create safety concerns for both occupants and the surrounding community. These locations expose individuals to environmental hazards, increase the risk of accidents, and can impact the well-being of children and families nearby.
Why we care
The City is dedicated to ensuring the safety and dignity of all Edmontonians. By addressing encampments in higher-risk locations, we work to protect vulnerable individuals and maintain safe, accessible spaces for everyone.
Why it matters
Encampments often form in hazardous, hard-to-reach areas like riverbanks, parklands, and near infrastructure, exposing individuals to risks from flooding, accidents, and environmental dangers. These locations can also lead to parkland degradation and put nearby structures, like bridges, at risk.
Why we care
Supporting individuals in relocating from these unsafe areas to secure, supportive spaces is essential to their well-being. Responding in hazardous areas also poses risks to first responders. The City is committed to compassionately protecting the safety of all residents while preserving our shared spaces and infrastructure.
Why it matters
First responders and front line staff face serious risks when responding to encampments, including exposure to biohazards, fire hazards from propane tanks and open flames, and hidden sharp objects. Unstable structures and unpredictable situations further heighten the risks they encounter.
Why we care
Keeping first responders and frontline staff safe is critical. Their work helps protect public health and safety while treating vulnerable people with respect. When they are safe and supported, they can respond more effectively and with compassion, benefiting the whole community.
Quick Facts
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (as of Nov. 30) | |
| Total Encampment Complaints | 9,328 | 17,044 | 17,948 |
| Total Encampment Closures | 4,298 | 6,693 | 9,474 |
| Waste Removal | - | 1 million kg | 1,604,824 kg |
| Encampment Cleanups | - | 2,417 Cost: $1,699,858 | 5,312 Cost: $5,790,965 $4,500,000 is funded by the Government of Alberta’s one-time grant |
Note: The difference between the number of complaints and the number of closures is due to duplicate reported complaints and encampments that are no longer present upon investigation (‘gone on arrival’). This ensures accurate reporting of unique encampments that required intervention.
Not all encampment closures require cleaning or site remediation. In some cases, the site is vacated before the scheduled cleanup or is found to not require additional cleaning upon closure.
Encampment Service Response Time - Service Level
|
Type |
Targeted Service Level |
Actual Service Level |
|
Site Assessment |
4 days | 7.2 average days since EOC deactivation (9.6 average days in 2023) 5.1 average days is the actual figure so far for all of 2024 (up to Nov 24) and includes the 8-month operational period of EOC activation which brought additional resources and streamlined processes to encampment response and significantly skews the response time data for 2024. September average response times were 6.3 days and October average response times were 8.1 days. Forecast actuals for 2025 will more closely align with an average initial assessment response time of 7.2 days. |
| Site Clean Up Clean up vacant sites, once notified. |
7 days | 3.6 average days |
| Average Total Response Time from Complaint to Clean Open to Completed |
11 days | 10.8 days |
- Target Service Levels are targets and are reliant on the types of sites and other factors (such as, size, severity, complexity, location, accessibility, fluctuation in complaint numbers, weather conditions)
- Actual Service Levels are based on data actuals showing the average time required across all types of sites
Encampment Response - Year to Date Statistics
As of November 30, 2024
| Trend (Compared to Last Year) | ||
| 311 Encampment Complaints Number of complaints 311 received during the reporting period |
17,948 | 5% - increase |
| Average Response Time (Days to Initial Assessment) The time from complaint receipt to initial assessment |
5.1 | 40% - decrease |
| Encampment Sites Cleaned Closure and removal of abandoned material occurs after a site has been vacated. An encampment site can include multiple structures |
5,312 | 142% - increase |
| Propane Tanks Removed | 2,977 | 98% - increase |
| Shopping Carts Removed | 5,309 | 160% - increase |
| Needles Removed | 28,205 | 32% - increase |
| Material Removed (kg) | 1,604,824 | 68% - increase |
How You Can Help
The Neighbourhood Empowerment Team (NET) offers tools and resources to help residents and businesses create safer neighbourhoods.
The Neighbourhood Response Guide also provides information on how to help people experiencing homelessness and what to do if you see someone in distress.
NET also partnered with the Mustard Seed to provide virtual training on encouraging positive interactions with vulnerable people and those experiencing homelessness.
Edmontonians can also help welcome affordable housing in their neighbourhoods to support efforts to end homelessness.