Regina Street Team managers dismissed, more changes to come

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Two key members of the Regina Street Team have been dismissed.

Judith Veresuk , executive director of the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (RDBID), confirmed Rob Kraushaar, the program co-ordinator, and Jason Knudsen, the outreach program manager, are no longer with the street team.

“We have concluded their contracts with the program,” Veresuk wrote in an email on Wednesday.

She declined to provide more details on the dismissals, citing personal employment details.

RDBID oversees the Regina Street Team, an outreach program officially launched in May 2024.

The team responds to non-emergency calls from people who are homeless or experiencing a mental health crisis.

The idea is to have a community-focused organization that provides a compassionate and timely response. It was one of the tools implemented by the City of Regina to address increasing homelessness in the city, especially in the downtown and Heritage neighbourhoods.

Kraushaar declined to discuss the matter, but said in a post on social media that he was “terminated without notice” and informed it was a “business decision.”

“Although I understand that this was a ‘power move,’ because people were told ‘we didn’t follow orders,’ I don’t feel right about keeping this all quiet,” Kraushaar wrote.

Changes to Regina’s homeless strategy

The news of the dismissals came just before Regina’s executive committee discussed a re-prioritization of the city’s wellness and homelessness strategy.

The committee voted in favour of a lengthy motion that would potentially re-allocate money to help fund projects meant to address homelessness and community wellbeing. It would also call for the city to push for more funding from the provincial or federal governments for dealing with the homelessness crisis.

Ward 6 Coun. Victoria Flores was behind the motion.

“I think everyone around this table really cares and understands that this is a growing complex issue that we as the city don’t have the budget to fix,” Flores said.

The motion also directed city administration, subject to approval in the 2026 budget, to designate or negotiate and approve a funding agreement to have a third-party operate the street team.

If a third-party operator is not deemed necessary by city administration, then the city would continue to operate the team.

In either case, the street team will continue to operate through at least 2026.

Veresuk told the city’s executive committee that the size of the street team fluctuates, but that as of Wednesday it had a staff of 10 people.

She endorsed the decision to shift the street team out of RDBID’s control, saying its role had expanded beyond the scope of the organization.

Any more funding for the Regina Street Team from the RDBID would be transferred to the city, Veresul confirmed.

The motion must still be approved by city council.