STC’s Tribal Chief would like to see homeless shelters serving every ward in the city. Mark Arcand says there are people struggling with homelessness, addictions, and trauma in every ward and this is an issue for the whole community.

He hinted when speaking at an NSBA luncheon that there would be an announcement in three to four weeks about another shelter opening up, which won’t be on 20th Street. It will be in a residential area. He hopes the shelter in the residential area can open its doors before winter.

The STC previously announced opening up a permanent Wellness Centre on 20th Street, but Arcand expects it will be 18 months to a year before doors can open. Arcand notes that since the Saskatoon Tribal Council opened its temporary Emergency Wellness Centre on 1st Avenue, from mid-December to mid-July, over 1,000 individuals have used its services, and they have had to turn away about 15 people a night.

He understands that some people aren’t happy with having the shelter downtown, and they have complained to City Council, but he questions, if they aren’t in front of the Wellness Shelter hoping to get in, where are they going to go? Arcand says turning a blind eye doesn’t solve the problem. He suggests the whole community needs to be a part of the solution, as these people find the services they need to get over past traumas like the intergenerational trauma of residential schools, or to fight their addictions, or whatever their situation is.