Coun. Julie Friesen discusses her motion to rally local social service organizations and lobby the province for funding to build a permanent 24-hour shelter in the city. The matter was a late addition to Monday's agenda and passed unanimously.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
City hall will attempt to co-ordinate support to build a permanent 24-hour shelter in Medicine Hat and broadly address problems in the city centre, even as locating a new temporary shelter is being disputed.
The move would involve existing social service agencies, which are currently fighting to open a temporary daylight shelter on N. Railway Street, as well as the province as “a primary” partner, according to the motion brought forward by Coun. Julie Friesen on Monday night.
It states the city “has a part to play” but would not be the “sole owner” of the project, specific to the shelter. City administrators would gather the network together to “collaboratively” develop a co-ordinated long-term strategy to essentially tackle problems in the downtown.
“Its scope may end up being broader (than a shelter), but it needs to be driven by the community and there are many organizations involved,” Friesen told reporters.
“We’ve certainly heard from business owners who are concerned and those who are heartened by the possibilities ”
Local social service officials say there is high potential for 24-hour supportive shelter to address common complaints about downtown, such as behaviour driven by homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, and mental health issues exacerbated by the pandemic.
Currently emergency overnight shelters are staged by the Salvation Army, but no daytime shelter program is in place. The province gave emergency grant funding for the winter months to set up space for overnight shelter users who were left outdoors during daytime as the pandemic restricted capacity of public buildings and businesses.
The issue was a late addition to Monday night’s agenda, where council also officially received minutes from the planning commission, which this month delayed a permitting decision on the new shelter location. It requires applicants to present plans to mitigate problems and conflicts with neighbouring businesses.
In February, a city appeal board ordered no extensions for the previous shelter location in a store front on Third Street and Sixth Avenue after nearby business owners claimed they were harassed and intimidated by shelter users.
Earlier this month members of the police commission were questioned about the potential for more resources downtown.
Jaime Rogers, of Medicine Hat Community Housing Society, had called on council to act after the planning commission tabled the new shelter permit.
She said she attended council to see if discussion would arise from the planning commission item.
“We didn’t know it was happening, but for the community it’s a fantastic step in the right direction,” Rogers told the News. “The city coming on side and assisting with initiatives for vulnerable populations is positive for everyone, including businesses.”
All council members voted to support exploring the issue, including Mayor Ted Clugston, who often draws a clear line between municipal and provincial responsibilities.
He repeatedly blamed previous government for moving ahead with a local supervised-consumption site to combat opioid deaths. The current government cancelled funding for the project before it could open on S. Railway Street.
“I don’t know if this (shelter) is the ‘solve’ for homelessness, alcoholism, drug addiction, sleeping rough; every municipality in North America is dealing with these issues,” said Clugston. “But we have to do something. We have to take some sort of role and it will be a partnership role. We can facilitate the process.”
