Red Deer council approved the Community Housing Advisory Board's recommendation to redirect $100,000 of provincial grant money to help chronically homeless people with higher needs.

The Rapid Rehousing program provided by Central Alberta Women’s Outreach offers housing and case management to help those who are chronically and episodically homeless.

Currently, it serves clients whose level of need is rated as “moderate” under a metric called the Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (SPDAT), which takes into account the length of time a person has spent homeless, family and social connections, mental health and other factors.

The enhancement allows the program to help clients with higher acuity and more complex needs.

The grant money became available when another service provider ended its agreement with the city early. There will be another $500,000 to be reallocated by March 31, 2019.