HOMELESS MAY WASTE REBATES ON DRUGS, SHELTER OPERATORS FEAR

Difficulties expected in getting $400 cheques to transients

EDMONTON - Homeless shelter operators in Edmonton worry some of their
clients will spend their $400 resource rebate cheques on drugs and
alcohol.

"Some of them are going to do it because that is all they know," said
Ron Lamb, a volunteer at the Herb Jamieson Centre.

"If they are given this money, we are going to do what we can to make
sure that they use it properly.

"We can't school them or police them, but we can encourage them. Part
of our assignment here is to establish to them that they are valuable."

Dale, a Herb Jamieson Centre client who did not want his last name
used, plans to pay off fines with his cheque.

Many homeless people fuel their addictions with GST cheques from the
government, Dale said.

He said he expects the same to happen with the rebates to be sent out
in January.

"Drug dealers are going to be happy that week, that's for sure," he
said Wednesday.

"If people spend the cheque wisely, then I think it's a smart idea,
but if they blow it on drugs, it is just a government-funded drug habit."

Dale, 25, added that it is not just the homeless who might use the
$400 to fuel addictions.

Lamb said he applauds the government for promising rebates to all
Albertans, but added it will be next to impossible to get money to
people with no fixed addresses.

Several Edmonton shelters, including Herb Jamieson and the Bissell
Centre, provide clients with a mailing address but many homeless
people cannot be reached by mail.

To be eligible for a rebate, people have to file a 2004 tax
return.

Gerald Kastendieck, a spokesman for Alberta Finance, said the Canadian
Revenue Agency will mail tax forms to people who want to file. The
government does not currently have a plan to get forms to people
without an address.

Ele Gibson, resource development manager at the Bissell Centre,
wondered what the government will do to help agencies dole out cheques.

"We'll have to hire additional staff to deal with it for the short
period of time and we hope they would cover these costs."

Kastendieck said Alberta Finance is still trying to determine how to
get cheques to the homeless.

"We are working with Seniors and Community Supports that have some
responsibilities in the area to get more information," he said.

Kastendieck said he did not know if any inner-city agencies had been
contacted by the provincial government regarding the rebates.

Meanwhile, Dennis, 55, who is staying at the Herb Jamieson Centre,
doubts the prosperity cheques will reach the transient population.

"If you have got no income how can you expect a cheque? But we do vote
here and we are registered here, so we should get the cheques the same
way," he said.

There are about 2,000 homeless people in Edmonton.