The Saskatoon Tribal Council Tribal Chief is eager to hear City Council’s verdict on a new, permanent drop-in centre location, as the current facility is lacking in several departments. 

On Wednesday, Saskatoon Administration proposed establishing a permanent drop-in centre at 130 Idylwyld Drive North. This location would cost just over $1.6 million, but would provide a central location, street-level access, proximity to services, and two separate bays for men and women. 

The STC operates the current center at 325 Avenue C South. Mark Arcand says ‘it’s about time’ a new location was found, as the current ‘beat-down’ building has only a few showers and laundry units: not enough when serving approximately 120 women per night. 

“I’m glad that we’ll be done there, cause the building itself is not too good,” he chuckled.

He adds that it’s right beside the Salvation Army shelter, making for quite the social disorder hotspot. 

“I didn’t want to go there for that specific reason. We we’re too close to Salvation Army. At the end of the day, that’s too much for one neighborhood. I think we’ve got to really spread it out within the city of Saskatoon.”

He says the new central location means users will be able to access programs and services downtown. “It’s easier access for them to go over to the Friendship Centre and access some of their services, whether it’s an AA meeting, or whatever they’ve got going on.”

If approved by Council at the February 25 meeting, the expected opening date would be November 1 of this year. Arcand encourages the City to have it open by September to ensure people have a place to go before the temperatures drop and the snow flies. 

He suggests the Avenue C building be kept as a secondary warming location, especially if the number of homeless people in the city continues to grow.