Saskatoon advocates make desperate plea for action

February’s deadly cold snap has broken.

Over the weekend temperatures are expected to reach single digits but this brings little relief to those living outside.

The complicated issue is taking its toll on everyone especially on community advocates like David Fineday and Chris Moyah who recently hosted a smudge walk in Saskatoon.

EFN sat down with Fineday a few days after he learned of the 19-year-old woman who was found dead in a Saskatoon field on Feb. 3rd. The Saskatoon Tribal Council said there are no records of the teenager ever staying at their Emergency Wellness Centre.

Fineday sat in the Boxcar Cafe in Station 20 West and wondered out loud what more he could do to help his community.

He definitely wants answers.

Fineday is not only looking for accountability, but for ways to bring more awareness to the often tragic experiences of the homeless.

“They have millions of dollars just sitting there,” said Fineday. “That’s what’s killing these people, this money just sitting there.”

A few minutes later, his cell phone rings.

Fineday says, he gets a lot of calls from people letting him know what’s going on in the community.

The phone call was short.

“We lost another one,” said Fineday.  “A 96-year-old man. I don’t know any other details, but this can’t keep happening.”

A Voice for the Houseless

Fineday, a member of the Sweetgrass First Nation, has been very vocal about Saskatoon’s houselessness issue. He frequently appears in local news stories and has appealed to city councils and governments for action.

The names and cause of death for the 19-year-old girl and the elderly man who were both found in the Fairhaven neighbourhood have not been released.

According to several online weather sites, temperatures dipped to below minus 30C the week the deaths occurred.

“I prayed and smudged for six days and this is still what happens,” said Fineday. “There’s 1500 to 2000 people out there. They need this money today, not tomorrow.”

He referred to the City of Saskatoon’s Community Encampment Response Plan, which includes a federally funded capital project valued at more than $4.4 million.

A recent point-in-time count from the City of Saskatoon identified 1,499 people in the city experiencing houselessness.

Fineday believes the number is much higher.

“A lot of people don’t want to admit they’re homeless,” he said. “They’re couch surfing or staying with a family member. They don’t want people to see them as homeless, so they’re not participating in these counts.”

Fineday has lost several close people in the last year to pneumonia, freezing temperatures, and chronic illness. All consequences of homelessness, and all avoidable, he said.

In November, the City of Saskatoon granted Fineday a 96-hour permit to smudge. He set up an encampment for six days – two more than his permit allowed – where people came to smudge, sleep, pray, have something hot to drink, or talk to a someone who cared.

“I spent four days straight without sleeping,” said Fineday. “People wanted me to stay out there longer, which is why I stayed two extra days. We probably smudged 150-200 people in that time.”

With temperatures going as low as -40C during the week, Fineday believes he saved four or five lives over the six days.

“The smudging was needed,” he said. “We need our spirituality brought back. That’s what’s missing with 99 per cent of these people. It was like family there. We’re able to talk and be there for each other. That turns lives around.”

Firsthand Experience

Fineday, a 60s Scoop Survivor, was once an addict who also experienced houselessness. He turned his life around after connecting with spirituality and culture.

For Fineday prayer, culture, and smudging are essential. Based on his own experiences he understands the vicious struggle those living on the street often experience.

“People will make assumptions about you – they’ll look at you and say, ‘You look fine, go get a job’. But they don’t understand what’s going on internally,” said Fineday. “There’s hidden disabilities, addictions, mental health problems.”

The lack of understanding from the public can lead to negative situations.

“When people drive by and yell ‘f-king Indian, get out of here’, you feel like you can’t ask for help,” said Fineday. “You feel down and kicked around.”

The community advocate spent most of his life as a roofer, but has also waited tables, worked in construction, and is a certified track and field coach.

His employment opportunities are hindered because he suffers from macular degeneration, which has impaired his vision. After numerous eye surgeries, his doctor said there’s no way to save his eyesight.

Despite these setbacks, Fineday works tirelessly to help those in his city in whatever way he can.

He recently challenged city councillors to spend a night with him on the street. Ward 3 Councillor Robert Pearce, who has questioned in the past whether the Emergency Wellness Shelter should be moved out of Fairhaven, was the only councillor who took Fineday up on his offer.

He and Fineday spent a night handing out hot drinks and talking to those out in the cold in late January.

“I think a lot of what he saw shocked him,” said Fineday. “I don’t know if it changed his mind, I haven’t talked to him since.”

According to Fineday, Pearce was able to see what it was actually like on the Saskatoon streets in the dead of winter.

Out of his comfort zone, the councillor expressed concern over the safety and well being of the houseless.

The city’s Community Encampment Response Plan does include the creation of supportive housing units and a study on a future community navigation centre, which will be done in phases and the plan will be implemented over 2025 and 2026.

Fineday says things need to happen now – not later.

“This poor girl froze to death,” he said. “People are dying out there. What are we going to do with this money? I present my ideas and they say, ‘great’. But nothing changes.”

Solutions to the Crisis

Fineday has inquired multiple times about the former St. Mary’s Credit Union building across from Prairie Harm Reduction and the STC Health Centre, which is vacant.

He wants to see it opened immediately as a warm-up shelter.

Fineday has looked at what other cities and countries are doing to combat houselessness and thinks some of those ideas could work here.

He would like the city to invest in heated sleeping pods/capsules that can be placed in several pockets of the city where the need is greatest.

In addition, Fineday believes permanent tipis scattered throughout the city, where people can smudge, pray, and gather for support are needed.

“We only have two warm-up shelters open overnight. That’s not enough,” said Chris Moyah, member of Thunderchild First Nation who works at a community centre in Saskatoon.

“This conversation has been ongoing for years. Why hasn’t anything been done to decrease the amount of people who are unhoused?”

Moyah has also been advocating city council for more resources, and leading smudge walks in solidarity for those who have passed, which are often met with hostility by the public.

“Sometimes people will yell at us (and) harass us,” said Moyah. “They see a group of Indians and drive by really aggressively as if we’re not there. It makes you feel very uncomfortable, unsafe. As if what you’re doing it not appreciated or welcome.”

Fineday is concerned about the hostility exhibited in certain shelters and community centres. He said some places employ unsympathetic security who intimidate and ultimately drive away those seeking shelter.

“If you come in here and you look like shit, you haven’t had a bath or clean clothes, you need someone who understands.” he said. “Someone who can talk to them, tell them where they can get a meal, clean clothes, a warm bed. Make them feel cared for, don’t drive them away.”

Fineday says he won’t rest until there’s a facility where couples can stay together, or until sleeping pods and tipis are installed throughout the city.

He believes Saskatoon needs a central place where Indigenous spirituality is nurtured.

“I want a place with a constant fire,” said Fineday. “Where we can smudge and heal together. Where we can be shown help and how to help others. All it takes to change your attitude is knowing someone out there cares about you.”