Who Controls the Tap? Saskatchewan's Social Systems Are Flooding, and the Fix Isn’t More Buckets

In the middle of an overflowing crisis, we keep scrambling for cups. Community organizations run themselves ragged trying to scoop water from the floor—meanwhile, no one is allowed to touch the tap. 

That’s the metaphor Colleen Christopherson-Cote, lead strategist with the Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership uses to describe Saskatchewan’s social support systems, and it’s not just clever imagery. In our conversation on the Speakeasy Podcast, she lays out a troubling truth: we are not simply witnessing a poverty or homelessness crisis—we are producing one. 

The tap, in this case, is public policy. And it’s turned on full blast. 

Systems That Create the Flood 

Colleen calls them “system taps"—institutions that, by policy or omission, push people into crisis. Consider the hospital system. Patients in Saskatchewan are still being discharged directly into homelessness—sometimes with nothing but a hospital gown and a taxi voucher. It’s not that the health system is failing at medicine; it’s that it is functioning in isolation from housing, income, and shelter systems. 

Justice is no better. People are routinely released from jail with no housing plan, no ID, and no income. Some are even released late on Fridays, when no services are open. They leave with a criminal record and enter a system that treats them as unemployable and undeserving. With no bridge to reintegration, the cycle restarts. 

Social services, too, often discharge youth from care without meaningful transition support. The education system contributes as well: students expelled from school frequently describe that moment as the final straw in their journey into homelessness. 

And behind it all is a public policy machine that rarely includes the people it affects. 

The Myth of Scarcity 

Colleen challenges the widely accepted idea that Saskatchewan simply doesn’t have the resources to do better. “Resource scarcity,” she argues, is not a fact—it’s a construct. There is no shortage of resources, only a shortage of willingness to prioritize people on the margins. 

And while frontline workers continue to bear the emotional and practical burden of responding to emergencies, they’re often left out of the policy rooms that shape the very conditions they’re trying to triage. 

What Could Change Look Like? 

While many of the examples below are Saskatoon-based, similar work is happening in other Saskatchewan communities. Moose Jaw, Prince Albert, Regina, North Battleford, and communities in northern Saskatchewan all face unique challenges—and in many cases, are developing their own place-based solutions. The need for coordinated access, transitional supports, and culturally grounded responses is provincial, not urban-specific. 

There are promising models already operating in Saskatchewan—if only they were scaled and connected. 

Transitional housing initiatives like CUMFI , who offer Indigenous led, culturally grounded support. For medical discharge, organizations like Sanctum Care Group and Station 20 West provide wraparound care that prevents re-entry into crisis. Justice reintegration supports from STR8 UP, the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan, and the Elizabeth Fry Society of Saskatchewan help people navigate the post-incarceration minefield of paperwork, housing, and employment barriers. 

A range of organizations also support people transitioning out of shelters. The Mustard Seed Saskatoon housing program offers permanent supportive housing with wraparound care. The Salvation Army Crossroads Residential Services in Saskatoon provides men with case-managed transitional housing options like Bethany Home and the Next Steps program. Station 20 West and the Saskatoon Tribal Council offer newly launched drop-in services and overnight youth shelters. For survivors of domestic violence, organizations like PATHS (Provincial Association of Transition Houses and Services of Saskatchewan) coordinate a provincial network of second-stage housing, including safe shelters operated by Saskatoon Interval House, Qu'Appelle Haven run by File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, and others across the province. 

Youth-focused organizations like EGADZ (Saskatoon Downtown Youth Centre), Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op, and White Buffalo Youth Lodge are building alternative paths for young people failed by the K–12 system. And efforts to streamline intake through coordinated access models—where people can walk into any service provider and be helped, regardless of whether it’s the “right” door—are beginning to take shape. In Regina, the YMCA of Regina offers transitional housing and homelessness prevention services. Prince Albert is home to the YWCA Prince Albert, which runs emergency shelters and outreach programs, while North Battleford Lighthouse Supported Living had also operated key services in the region before its closure and may serve as a blueprint for future regional hubs. PATHS members also support rural and northern communities with mobile services, safe shelter referrals, and violence prevention programming. —where people can walk into any service provider and be helped, regardless of whether it’s the “right” door—are beginning to take shape. 

But these are still isolated fixes. Colleen argues that Saskatchewan needs a full continuum: from low-barrier emergency shelters to long-term housing options, from immediate detox access to long-view recovery pathways. That continuum doesn’t currently exist. Instead, we try to stretch short-term programs into long-term solutions—and people fall through the gaps. 

Rewriting the Narrative 

System reform is often talked about in sterile terms: policy development, program integration, outcomes-based metrics. But the reality on the ground is deeply human. 

When someone is told they can’t bring their pet into shelter, they may choose the street. When a 17-year-old is expelled from school, they may lose the last stable place in their life. When a frontline worker burns out from constant trauma exposure, the community loses a lifeline. 

Reform isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about dignity. 

So, What Now? 

First, we stop pretending the overflow is accidental. It isn’t. People aren’t falling through cracks—they’re being funnelled through gaps we designed. 

Second, we invite frontline and lived experience voices into the rooms where decisions are made. Real solutions won’t come from policy wonks alone. They’ll come from those who’ve lived through the churn of the justice system, the child welfare system, or the sidewalk outside a hospital discharge door. 

And third, we stop asking, “What do we do with them?” and start asking, “How do we walk with them?” 

Because if we never touch the tap, we’ll just keep buying more buckets. 

Acknowledgment: This conversation and article were made possible with support from the Saskatoon Community Foundation, whose commitment to community-led change continues to drive innovation and equity in our province. 

We also acknowledge the work of AIMS-SK (Advancing Interprofessional Management of Substance Use Disorders in Saskatchewan), a provincial program created by the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine, Continuing Medical Education (CME), and Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE). AIMS-SK is aimed at improving health outcomes for individuals with substance use disorders by equipping providers with interprofessional, evidence-informed tools to offer better care across sectors.