Mother Nature provides challenge for city’s homeless population

Meanwhile her friend Jack added he would also appreciate a place he could go to shower or do laundry.

A separate group identifying themselves as ‘The Trio”, were resting under a large tree along the riverbank. They explained prior to it closing down for the summer, Stepping Stones was where they could go to sleep. They added the other option is detox, but added it’s too far to walk.

The group also explained they rely on service agencies like Moose Lodge or the Outpost for a meal.

“That’s how we survive,” one of the men said.

A downtown doorway provides a temporary shelter. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

In cities like Saskatoon measures such as misting stations, have been introduced to help people beat the heat.

The Prince Albert Grand Council said that starting Thursday afternoon, the Moose Lodge will open up as a cooling station for those trying to escape the heat.

Brian Howell, manager of the Riverbank Development Corporation, helped advocate in the past for something similar in Prince Albert. He’s also been a part of the ongoing talks regarding a permanent shelter.

“What Prince Albert needs is not stop-gap solutions where everyone runs around in circles and puts together a shelter that lasts three months or finds one place to be a cooling station,” he said.

Noting Prince Albert’s diverse homeless population and the separate groups that are gathered in separate areas of the city, Howell explained one of the challenges that come with setting up a cooling station is zoning.

He reiterated what’s really needed is a long-term shelter in a space that’s acceptable to all, and can provide basic housing, medical treatment and social services.

“That work is underway but like I said it’s complicated,” he said, adding a solution of this kind will involve a lot of money and a lot of agencies.

Stepping Stones, which is operated by YWCA Prince Albert, officially closed for the season on April 30 after being open since last November.

During that time, 445 people slept in one of the 30 beds offered each night. This was slightly up from previous years, and the shelter was viewed by many as a short term or patchwork solution to the problem.

As of Monday, there are no concrete plans for the coming winter.

Explaining Prince Albert is not alone in its struggles and homeless numbers are growing across the province, Howell cited a recent incident Saskatoon in which a woman stabbed two random people before fleeing to a nearby shelter.

The choice to have a shelter in Saskatoon’s Fairhaven area was also met with some controversy.

“We really need to come up with a local solution here that meets our needs and doesn’t create more problems than it solves,” he said.

Response from business community

As talks continues around a homeless strategy, the city’s business community is dealing with its own set of challenges.

In one incident reported to police, a staff member at a fast food restaurant was delivering food to a waiting car outside when he was approached and forced to fend off a homeless man who was attempting to take the bags of food.

Other complaints relate to washrooms being used as temporary cleaning stations or even places to get a quick fix. As a result of these incidents, some restaurants have introduced measures such as a doorbell or leaving bathrooms locked and accessible only with a key.

A social media post by one Prince Albert downtown business owner described her feelings of compassion and desire to help the homeless, but also feelings of frustration over cleaning up needles, garbage and even human feces.

Patricia Hughes, CEO of the Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, confirmed conversations she’s had with frustrated business owner, who have in her words been forced to take a proactive approach to mitigate the issues happening.

“It’s a problem that’s really been affecting the community as a whole,” she said.

Hughes acknowledged some businesses have even gone so far as to hire a private security firm, but added that’s a big expense.

“It’s a cost of a minum of $10,000 a month to have the security there to make sure not only the people coming in, but also their employees are safe,” she said.

Hughes said the responsibility lies both with city’s leadership and the provincial government, and encouraged them both to show “visible action” and to work with the agencies that are equipped to address the various issues.

paNOW reached out to the city’s planning director for comment, but did not receive a response by the publishing deadline.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

Mother Nature provides challenge for city’s homeless population

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