Ponoka pens letter to province amid group home concerns

PONOKA -- The Town of Ponoka has penned a letter to the province amid continued concerns surrounding a group home located in the town's Riverside neighbourhood. 

The letter addressed to Searle Turton, Alberta's Minister of Children and Family Services, raises concerns relating to repeated issues stemming from the Unlimited Potential Group Home located on 45 Street. The purpose of the group home is to look after youth clients who have been displaced from their primary homes. However, Mayor Kevin Ferguson says the facility has been the subject of increased community concern over the past two years.

"We have had concerns with this group home that date all the way back to the morning of October 28, 2024, when a young girl from this home was found deceased behind the hockey arena in our town," writes Ferguson. "The girl was in grade ten and clearly was unaccounted for that evening as she was found several blocks away from the group home."

Ferguson notes that since the tragic incident from 2024, he's received repeated complaints about the group home, including two particular complaints that were recently brought to the attention of Ponoka Council by neighbourhood residents.

"The first witnessed concern deals with an incident whereby this neighbour happened upon one Sunday morning in April, to find a man sleeping with one of the girls from the home outside in a tent," writes Ferguson. "On July 12th, this neighbour also witnessed a group of six underage youths at 2:00 a.m. outside on the property with an abundance of liquor and the subsequent other issues that usually accompany incidents like this."

According to Ponoka RCMP, officers responded to a total of 233 calls for service at the group home on 45 Street between July 2025 and July 2026, representing more than four calls per week during that period. In his letter, Ferguson seeks consultation with Minister Turton relating to a possible path forward for addressing the rising community concerns. 

"We are currently looking in to how we can mitigate this unsafe environment at the municipal level, and we feel this currently to be an extremely high priority," says Ferguson. "Town Council and myself would be keenly interested in pursuing discussions with you or your Ministry as quickly as possible to determine what the way forward looks like."

Group care and specialized residential facilities for at-risk youth or children with intervention needs are regulated through the Residential Facilities Licensing Regulation and overseen via government referrals through Alberta's Child and Family Services.