Plans for downtown homeless shelter in town of La Ronge, Sask., left in limbo

The town of La Ronge has had a temporary homeless shelter in the basement of a business for more than seven years. The downtown shelter is only available seasonally, from October to the end of April.

Ron Woytowich, a former mayor of La Ronge, runs the facility as director of the Kikinahk Friendship Centre. He said the space isn't big enough to accommodate the amount of people coming in for help. Woytowich said his team uses a single room to serve several purposes.

"We remove all the tables that we serve them their meals at in the daytime … at night and put them on the side and bring out cots and they all sleep in one room," he said. "Males and females sleep in the same area."

Woytowich came up with an idea to help — a permanent shelter located in a local inn. The lakefront property was listed for sale by its owner and Woytowich thought it would be the perfect place for a permanent solution.

"We put a proposal in to Ottawa to buy the motel to use it in the same way a motel is used," he said. 

"We didn't see any difference in the definition. A motel is for people that need a room for the night," Woytowich said. "Putting it bluntly, it's still a motel. It's just that we're not going to rent it out because we're federally funded."

'Overwhelming' opposition from town

Woytowich said that no matter where you go, there will always be people who need a safe place to stay, either temporarily or long-term, until they get back on their feet.

"In the North, we kind of have to look after the people that live here and the people that show up here for whatever reason," he said. "They could be arrested someplace else and have to come to a court appearance in La Ronge because that's where the courthouse is. And if they don't go to jail, they're going to be on the street. We look after them at the shelter until they're able to get home."

Woytowich said the grant from the federal government was approved and the second phase of the project was to gain approval from the town.

He did not expect the intense opposition to the idea. 

"You have those businesses downtown that see those people, and yet also have been servicing them and their families for years, and have made a lot of money off the very people that they don't want there."

The town had two meetings about the proposal. At the first, four council members voted for the conversion, while three voted against. The second meeting was a public hearing where residents could voice their concerns. 

Mayor Joe Hordyski descibed it as "an overwhelming response from the community." 

"The chamber had concerns about business, residents that live in that area had safety concerns," he said. "It's something that definitely would impact the community and council themselves … they weren't prepared to approve it in the zoning bylaw."

Hordyski said the town has revitalization plans for the downtown area and council members were worried that a homeless shelter would jeopardize those.

He said he knows the homeless issue has grown substantially in the last few years.

"The people that were in opposition to it say there's just we're not opposed to having a shelter," he said. "It's just not a good location for it, and we just have to give up too much to accommodate that service."

The town is hoping the organization will be able to find another suitable location that is not as centrally located. 

For now there is no word on if plans for a permanent shelter will continue.