Downtown Saskatoon wellness shelter could open as early as Monday

Green cots, medical supplies, donated items like fridges and microwaves, washing machines and detergent have already been delivered to a building in downtown Saskatoon that will house a temporary emergency wellness shelter for the next several months.

The shelter could open as early as Monday.

Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand says it was important for the initiative to be Indigenous-led for Indigenous people.

“The majority of the homeless people are Indigenous,” he said. “So we’re proud we’re actually leading by example. Anybody could have done this, but we’ve done it, taken on by the direction of STC chiefs to help all people, including non- Indigenous.”

During a special council meeting Thursday morning, Saskatoon city councillors unanimously approved a lease with the Saskatoon Tribal Council for nearly 10,000 square feet of space in a building at 145 First Ave. N.

The city will also provide around $130,000 of in-kind services. That includes waiving rent and making additions to the HVAC and fire alarm systems, according to Fire Chief Morgan Hackl.

“It is an upgrade to the system that is required because of the use of the facility,” he explained. “That would be different than the future tenants of that facility.”

Arcand said the STC has between $100,000 and $150,000 of its own funding as well to get the shelter up and running for the next month.

“This now gives us an opportunity to say there’s multiple partners here now contributing to this, now going to the federal government and say, ‘Can you match these amounts?’ (and) going to the provincial government. It’s a short-term outcome; it’s not long term,” he said.

The shelter will run 24 hours a day seven days per week. It will have a kitchen area with two fridges, food and microwaves, a laundry room, lounges where residents can watch TV, counselling services and nurse practitioners.

Arcand said the STC is expecting to hire security personnel to monitor the outside of the building, and there will be zero tolerance for drugs, alcohol or smoking inside.

“(Residents) are going to have to understand and respect that,” he said. “It’s not our facility; we’re renting it. But if they come in intoxicated or high on drugs, yes … maybe they get set up in a special room so that we can monitor them,” he added. “We’re going to treat people with respect.”

During Thursday’s council meeting, Downtown YXE executive director Brent Penner told councillors he knows the shelter is necessary, but the failure of all levels of government over the last several years led to the current situation.

“Everyone agrees that something must change, but no one with the ability to make change makes it,” he said. “Weeks go by, more meetings are scheduled and literally nothing changes. People continue to struggle and the negative spiral continues.”

He also asked council why local businesses and residents weren’t consulted about the shelter earlier.

“Why was there no effective consultation with effective stakeholders? The lack of action by the provincial government on this issue has hurt not only people who need services, but also the ability for people who live, work or visit this district to do so unencumbered, with a feeling of safety,” he continued.

Later, during a tour of the shelter, Arcand invited anyone concerned about the shelter to contact him directly.

“We’ll sit down, have a coffee and try to work on it,” he said. “We’re not going to dismay people and say, ‘Now that we’re open, we don’t care about your concerns.’ That’s not good relationships. That’s not good partnerships. But we have to sit down and come to a resolution and see how we can make it better.”

Arcand said the STC looked throughout the city for another location and was turned down every time, until the City of Saskatoon came forward and offered a building it owned for the temporary shelter. He said he’s proud of the STC, its partners, private donors and everyone else helping out.

“It’s a good story,” Arcand said. “But we’ve got to show outcomes and results. And that’s the tough work that comes ahead … This is temporary and we’re really going to try to set a standard for other people.”