Tomorrow (Wed), City Council will be choosing whether or not to approve the proposed downtown site for a temporary shelter on Pacific Avenue. The Tribal Chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council says he will be speaking at the meeting, because the STC is not in favour of where this shelter would be,with children accessing services nearby, and believes the provincial funding should instead go to warm up centres, with winter on the way. Mark Arcand suggests this will give the City more time to find a more suitable location, while helping more people than would be helped at the proposed downtown site. The STC runs the Emergency Wellness Centre on Fairmont Drive.
Arcand says some of the STC staff are part of the group working on the City’s winter warming plan. They have told him that the men’s overnight warming location for 80 people will be at St. Mary’s Parish Hall on 20th Street from 11pm to 9am. The planning group is still looking for a women’s overnight location, and for an evening warm-up spot from 6 to 11 pm for 100 people. Arcand says, “They want two outreach teams and two staff members from midnight to 8 am. So, the problem with this is there is no confirmed plan at all. Like I’ve said, it’s a shortfall in funding. They have estimated they need $1.6 million. They only have $300,000 committed from the province, which is unacceptable.” He stresses that the provincial government is not providing enough funding to properly address the issues of homelessness and complex needs.
Arcand doesn’t like the idea of a six to eight foot chain link fence around the proposed downtown temporary shelter. He believes it will look too much like a jail, and that won’t sit well with those who are experiencing homelessness and dealing with the effects or trauma from colonialism or mental health issues. He says there is a better way. “To care for people, to love people and show empathy and to make sure people are being trusted, that they can work together, and not basically lock people up in what I call a jail setting.” He notes that the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is coming up and states that this is not reconciliation.
The City has also promised extended hours for security and support workers downtown, focusing on the shelter area. Arcand wonders why this shelter, to be run by Mustard Seed, a Christian group out of Alberta, is being promised this security and support when the same hasn’t been promised for the Salvation Army or the Emergency Wellness Centre.
