Season Four - Episode One - Safe and Affordable Housing

Welcome to Season Four of YXE Underground. I am very grateful for your support of this local, independent podcast and I am excited to be sharing another season of stories with you. 

We begin Season Four with an in-depth look at safe and affordable housing in Saskatoon. This is an issue that has come up time and time again throughout the podcast. Whether it is looking at mental health issues in our community or focusing on addictions, the lack of safe and affordable housing in our community comes up as a root cause of these issues. 

I have been looking for a way to approach the issue on the podcast for over a year now but was struggling with finding a way into the story. Luckily, I received an email from Sheri Benson this past summer. Sheri is the CEO of the United Way Saskatoon and a YXE Underground listener. She told me I should do an episode on safe and affordable housing and I said, "sure...but I will need your help!" 

We met for lunch and came up with three people who we thought would make great guests on the podcast and could bring unique perspectives to the issue. I am thrilled they all said yes to being on the podcast.

Priscilla Johnstone is the Homelessness Action Plan Manager with Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership. She works with community organizations to deliver funding for various housing projects. Priscilla also works directly with Saskatoon's homeless population and does so through an Indigenous lens. 

Jordan Mills is the Director of Clinical Services at Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Services. He helped to start an innovative housing program in 2014 called Housing First. It is a unique program and one that Jordan passionately discusses in this episode.

Chelsie Fulton is the Pride Home Manager for OUT Saskatoon. Pride Home is a house that provides 2SLGBTQ youth between the ages of 16 and 21 a safe place to live open and free lives. It opened five years ago and is serving an important role in Saskatoon.
 

All three guests bring passion, empathy and years of experience to their roles, and it was a real pleasure speaking with them for this episode.
 

You can follow and listen to YXE Underground on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts. You can also listen to every episode on the website. Don't forget to follow to YXE Underground on social media and feel free to leave a review if you like what you hear. 

Thank you so much for supporting this local, independent podcast and I hope you enjoy this episode. 
Cheers...Eric 

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis