Province cancels funding for Marshall House Shelter

For Immediate Release
FORT MCMURRAY, AB, November 1, 2019 – The Province notified Wood Buffalo
Housing (WBH) on October 31, 2019 that they will no longer fund the Marshall House
Emergency Homeless Shelter. The decision was based on the fact that the shelter has
not been operating at capacity for the past few years. The Marshall House Shelter will
close on January 31, 2020. The Salvation Army shelter has been expanded so the clients
will have a place to go once Marshall House closes.
“We were extremely saddened to hear the news, but not entirely surprised,” says Henry
Hunter, President and CEO of WBH. “We have been fighting to have the funding renewed
every year since the wildfire, and after seeing the budget and being involved in
conversations with our local MLA, we saw the writing on the wall.”
Staff of the shelter have been notified, and WBH staff will be having conversations with
the tenants that currently live on the second and third floor in the next week. A total of
nine full-time staff will be affected by the closure.
“Unfortunately we will not be able to maintain the operating costs based on the small
amount of rent we receive from the tenants on the other two floors,” says Hunter. “The
Province has advised that they will help us explore options for the Marshall House building
once the shelter is closed.”