The sole emergency homeless shelter in the northern Alberta hamlet of Lac La Biche closed its doors this week after an unsuccessful five-month search for a new home.
On Tuesday, the shelter run by the Lakeland Out of the Elements Shelter Society ceased operations, at least in its current home: a Lac La Biche County-owned facility in the northeast outskirts of the community, where it moved in 2024.
“We had to say goodbye to people yesterday, and they looked at us and said, ‘Where are we going to eat?’” Lakeland Out of the Elements Shelter Society executive director Seanna Wilvers told CBC News on Wednesday.