Community Outreach Centre has 'exciting and busy weekend' in new Charlottetown location

The director of the Adventure Group, operators of the Community Outreach Centre, is looking to leave the controversies of the past behind at the centre's new location off Riverside Drive in Charlottetown.

"It was an exciting and busy weekend of transition and change," Adventure Group director Roxanne Carter-Thompson told CBC's Island Morning in an interview Tuesday.

On Saturday, the centre that offers support services to Prince Edward Islanders experiencing homelessness, unemployment and/or addiction issues was moved from the old Charlottetown Curling Club on Euston Street to a purpose-built facility made up of mobile trailers on Park Street.

Carter-Thompson said the Euston Street location was never meant to be permanent: "It was a curling club. It wasn't set up to be a space for the needs that our clients have."

Not only that, but security problems led to trouble in the neighbourhood. People living nearby complained about discarded intravenous needles, flagrant drug use, loitering, and threatening behaviour.

The design of the Euston Street location made it impossible to properly secure the space, and it ended up attracting people looking to prey on clients of the centre, given that many were known to have addiction issues.

Two years of experience running the centre, along with consultations with operators of similar centres across the country, went into the design of the new facility, said Carter-Thompson.

Security and triage

The first visible change is that the property is fenced off to reduce loitering and discourage outsiders' direct contact with clients.

In addition, as they enter the facility, clients will be triaged in a separate building to determine the kind of services they require. There they will find lockers to put away their belongings, and go through a security screening.

"It is such a relief to be able to have the triage and security building, because it was so hard to determine who was coming [onto] the property," said Carter-Thompson.

Cameras in all areas of the building will improve safety for everyone, she said.

The real work happens in the second building. There is a classroom, a multi-purpose room, and spaces for clients to have private conversations with centre staff. The building also includes temporary office space where partner agencies can set up to offer services to clients.

More privacy

The design is based on input from the centre's own staff and the experience of similar centres elsewhere in Canada, but the clients themselves also had a voice.

"For some, they said there is no quiet space, and there are individuals who stopped coming to the centre because there was no quiet space. So that was really important," said Carter-Thompson.

The space, made up as it is of mobile structures, is still not permanent, but Carter-Thompson said the Adventure Group is taking things one step at a time. They are thankful for the improvements in the new space, which she said are already making a difference.

"It was a time, I think, to take a sigh of relief. It was difficult to be in a space where there were so many eyes on you," she said. "There's more privacy for clients, and I've noticed that the tone has changed."

Neighbours of the new Park Street location have watched the move with some trepidation. Charlottetown police have increased their presence in the area, hoping to keep the troubles associated with the old centre from making the move as well.

That's a hope Carter-Thompson shares, along with a desire that the new centre can be more focused on its primary mandate, supporting people to reach their full potential.