'He's gonna see the real stuff': Advocate happy after Saskatoon councillor agrees to late-night walk-along
David Fineday calling for more shelters, smudging spaces and teepees for city's homeless
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
Fineday told councillors that until they experience first-hand the way people are living on the streets, they would not be able to grasp the gravity of the situation.
He invited them to take a walk with him through the city one night. Ward 3 Coun. Robert Pearce agreed to do so.
"I got goosebumps," Fineday said. "He's gonna see the real stuff. The weather, the cold, the shivering. Even if it's 40 below, they have to experience what it's like.
"Then in, in his own way, he's gonna come back and tell council in his words where they will understand him."
You may remember Fineday from his efforts with an encampment he set up in November for homeless people to come and smudge. Originally from Sweetgrass First Nation, Fineday said the majority of people on the streets are Indigenous and that the practices of shelters should reflect that.
Fineday said a lack of spiritual spaces could be a deterrent for unhoused people accessing shelter spaces.
He also spoke about some shelters in the city only taking men or women, which he said is tearing families apart.
"That is breaking up a relationship and it doesn't need to be done," Fineday said. "Why can't they keep them together? Why do they have to break them up?"
Many of the questions Fineday posed to council went unanswered, such as how much federal funding to the city will go toward efforts to house people and an update on his requests to get teepees set up around the city to act as culturally relevant warming spaces.
Ward 3 Coun. Pearce said he agreed with a lot of the points Fineday had brought up and that he is looking forward to going out with him to see the situation.
"I'm very encouraged by Mr. Fineday and his passion to help find solutions to problems that I'm currently working on," Pearce said. "Is this an opportunity to engage with a wider group of homeless people as well as start a relationship with Mr. Fineday, who obviously has some great ideas to help solve problems? Absolutely."
Fineday said he just hopes council heard his message — that more safe, accessible spaces are required. He mentioned Station 20 West as an example of a shelter model he would like to see more of in the city.
Fineday said Station 20 West felt safe, had people playing live music and co-ordinators encouraging people to take care of themselves without giving direct orders.
He said having religious groups run shelters doesn't align with truth and reconciliation. He mentioned The Mustard Seed, an Alberta-based non-profit organization that recently took over the old Lighthouse space.
"It's what, 90, 95 per cent First Nations people that are out there?" Fineday asked. "I believe that they should have First Nations people running [shelters].
"There are a lot of religious groups that want to do that, but they don't know how. They don't utilize the right people to come in there."
The 2024 point-in-time count found 1,499 unhoused people on a single day in Saskatoon. Fineday suggested the true number is much higher, as people may have been in encampments or alleys, and constantly moving around the city.
Fineday said he's not going to stop advocating until his voice is heard.
"I have to keep the momentum going of what I started."
He said his efforts are focused on getting permanent teepees and smudge spaces set up in the city for the unhoused to access and connect to their spirituality. He also hopes the city will allow him to be a member of its committee to address homelessness.
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