Saskatoon city council approves new downtown shelter
City hopes to have facility open before Jan. 1
In its last meeting before the approaching civic election, Saskatoon city council voted to move ahead with a proposed downtown shelter.
Council voted 7-4 in favour of the shelter, to be located at 210 Pacific Ave. It is planned to have 30 to 40 beds and offer 24-hour access and three meals a day to clients, along with support for addictions, mental health and wellness, and services to help them transition to long-term housing.
It will be run by the Mustard Seed, a faith-based organization that runs similar facilities in other cities.
Samantha Lowe, senior director of shelter operations for Mustard Seed, said most of its other facilities operate in residential areas and downtown cores.
"We are here to provide dignified care to the unhoused population we serve," she said.
The site is meant for "temporary use for up to 18 months" and require $250,000 for renovations, with the funding coming from Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, the city says.
The city says the immediate next steps will be to begin renovations and hire staff with targeted opening before Jan. 1, 2025.
Last week, the city announced increased safety plans for the shelter, drawing mixed reactions from community members.
Concerns around safety
Council heard from 10 speakers on the topic before voting, with eight of them voicing opposition.
Andrea Calow, co-owner of Second Act, a dancewear business and dance studio across from the shelter site, was the first presenter Wednesday. She said the facility is visited by 1,000 kids a month.
"We're concerned about their safety and exposure to drug paraphernalia,"she told the council.
While happy about the increased safety measures, Calow said there are concerns about "significant changes" coming to the neighborhood.
She said being a private dance school, it is excluded from the 250-meter buffer zone preventing shelters from being built near elementary school. She said she is particularly concerned about the hours of 4 to 10 p.m. and asked if the city's extended security measures would cover that period.
The city said it hasn't determined what the extended security hours would entail.
Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) Chief Mark Arcand reiterated comments he made Tuesday, saying "this is not reconciliation."
Karee Davidson from the Rumley Building, which houses businesses next door, said she opposes the site.
"The decision feels short-sighted and counterproductive," Davidson said. "This problem is bigger than all of us here."
She said that while the shelter is supposed to run for 18 months, the impact on the neighborhood will be permanent. She urged the city to look for alternative sites.
Blair Chapman from the Downtown Saskatoon Business Improvement District said businesses in the area are not pleased with what he called a lack of consultation.
Chapman said the shelter will bring open drug use, paraphernalia, encampments and other problems. He said businesses are willing to "coexist" if the city enacts recommendations including better garbage collection.
He also said the city should help businesses in the vicinity with costs related to vandalism and safety improvements.
More beds needed: Salvation Army
Gordon Taylor, executive director at Salvation Army in Saskatoon, said adding more shelter beds in the city would be a win.
He said Salvation Army's shelter was full throughout the summer, a first, and that winter will be no different.
"I am here to plead to that urgency," he said. "Time is of the essence."
Taylor said homelessness is increasing in the city, meaning demand for shelters will only increase. He said the city also needs to quickly work on an overnight warming shelter.
"Do we need any more enhanced shelters in Saskatoon? Yes, absolutely," Taylor told the council.
A similar shelter was proposed in the Sutherland neighbourhood, but was scrapped when city council decided in February that any future emergency shelters must be at least 250 metres away from any elementary schools.
The city later identified 210 Pacific, a former Saskatchewan Transportation Company building that is city-owned, as a potential site. It held neighbourhood information sessions on the proposal earlier this week.
The city says it is also looking at two potential sites for a new permanent 60-bed shelter, with an eye on moving services there next year.
Meanwhile, Regina city council voted Wednesday to purchase and renovate a building in the city's Heritage neighbourhood to function as a permanent emergency shelter.
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