For more than a year, Global News tracked the lives of four unhoused people in Edmonton.<\/p>\n

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From the coldest winter night to the smokiest summer day, Global News Investigates: Surviving Edmonton<\/em> offers a deeply personal look into a journey that few people can understand.<\/p>\n

You can watch Global News Investigates: Surviving Edmonton<\/em> on March 18 at 6:30 p.m. on Global Edmonton. It will also be available to watch on YouTube following the broadcast. Ahead of Monday\u2019s broadcast, Global News wants to introduce you to the people you will meet.<\/p>\n

Four people in Edmonton welcomed cameras to document a search for stability and housing.<\/p>\n

Global News spent time inside drop-in shelters, encampments during extreme cold warnings and inside supportive housing facilities, providing a first-hand and raw account into what it means to live on Edmonton\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n

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According to data from Homeward Trust, there are more than 2,800 people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton.<\/p>\n
These are a few of their stories:<\/p>\n
Kimberley Robertson<\/strong><\/h2>\n
On Jan. 19, 2023, Kimberley Robertson shared a deeply personal moment with Global News \u2014 she lent us her diary.<\/p>\n
Within its pages, Robertson described a life few can imagine. She detailed nights spent outside in freezing temperatures, her struggles with the legal system and her desire for change inside and outside of her.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t really care if I get the (diary) back. The purpose of it is to share information about what\u2019s going on,\u201d she told Global News.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason I am writing it is to get it lost, to get it in someone\u2019s hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robertson has lived in Edmonton nearly her whole life.<\/p>\n
She briefly went to Europe to work as a nanny. When she returned, her living situation began to fall apart.<\/p>\n
Her fianc\u00e9 died. She lost her job. Then, she lost housing. She hasn\u2019t been on stable ground since.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy life just took a different turn. I didn\u2019t let my life slip from under me, but I was still open to the idea that I hadn\u2019t tried hard enough to get where I was going.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Robertson frequents Edmonton shelters, primarily the Hope Mission. She said it\u2019s hard to focus much on the future because the present struggle to survive takes up so much of her attention.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t plan ahead. I\u2019ve learned the \u2018power of now\u2019 is how to survive anything.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the one thing we can count on\u2013change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Troy Cardinal & Leanne Wuttunee<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Troy Cardinal and Leanne Wuttunee believe they wouldn\u2019t survive Edmonton\u2019s streets without each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout her I wouldn\u2019t have made it these last few years,\u201d Cardinal said.<\/p>\n
The couple primarily sleeps outside or in encampments. They rarely utilize the shelter system because they worry they\u2019ll get separated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he\u2019s not with me, I can\u2019t eat. I can\u2019t sleep without getting worried. (I wonder) how is he surviving out there?\u201d said Wuttunee.<\/p>\n
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The couple has been together since 2011 and without stable housing since 2019.<\/p>\n
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Like many people without stable housing, both have suffered frostbite from long periods of time in extreme cold temperatures.<\/p>\n
Cardinal and Wuttunee both use drugs. They acknowledge their drug use makes it even more challenging for them to find solid ground.<\/p>\n
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According to data from the Alberta government, 608 people in Edmonton died from opioid poisonings in the first 11 months of 2023.<\/p>\n
Cardinal and Wuttunee tried to help some of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll find someone in a back alley. Some people will be turning blue already,\u201d Cardinal explained. \u201cI\u2019ll do CPR. Leanne will go get help.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brings back the bad memories from when I went under. No one was around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Adam Krause<\/strong><\/h2>\n
A photo of Adam Krause\u2019s grandparents hangs on the wall in his apartment.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s taken an interest in personalizing his space where he can, it\u2019s the first time in four years he\u2019s had stable housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first night I moved in here, I slept like a baby,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He sees opportunity in the downtown core for other people without stable housing.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf we had more buildings like this we could put them all over. Get the people that want to move, move out.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Homeward Trust has more than 400 long- and short-term supportive housing units in Edmonton with 161 confirmed units under development.<\/p>\n
The City of Edmonton is funding some of those units, along with hundreds more.<\/p>\n
Still, many people without stable housing brought up concerns of a lack of available places to live. It highlights a problem connecting people to those resources and the perception of access.<\/p>\n
Beyond housing needs, Krause still feels like something is missing.<\/p>\n
He needs community. He dreams of going back home to Stony Plain to spend time with his mom.<\/p>\n
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For now?<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as I have a place to live, I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 30-minute special Global News Investigates: Surviving Edmonton <\/em>was produced by the following Global Edmonton employees:<\/p>\n
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Reporter\/producer: Morgan Black<\/li>\n
Editor: Clarisse Carreon<\/li>\n
Videographers: Dave Carels, Leslie Knight, Brandon Sobchyshyn, Charles Taylor<\/li>\n
Local graphics: Brad Pearson<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t&copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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