Open house sessions pack new wellness centre in Fairhaven

An open house at the new location for the Saskatoon Wellness Centre drew a big crowd this week, but while many praised the centre’s expansion, others expressed concern about the new location in Fairhaven.

The wellness centre, which provides shelter and services to the homeless and at-risk population of the city, is moving to the Fairhaven neighbourhood from its current location downtown thanks in part to assistance from the provincial government. The new 106-bed facility is a project of the Saskatoon Tribal Council and Tribal Chief Mark Arcand.

Community members, support workers and others just interested in learning more about the new Saskatoon Wellness Centre location turned out in droves to the centre’s new location for Thursday afternoon’s open house session. The new wellness centre was packed during the event, with hardly any parking spaces available.

(Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

The open house Thursday was the second of such meeting. The evening session Wednesday, which was slotted to run from 6 to 8 p.m., reportedly lasted until around 10. Many attendees were curious about the new presence they’ll soon be welcoming to the neighbourhood.

Trista, a mom and peer support worker living in Fairhaven, said she’s a strong supporter of the Saskatoon Tribal Council, but she still brought some concerns with her to the open house, hoping to say her piece. She felt she didn’t really get the chance.

Trista said she wanted more clarification on how the new shelter in her neighbourhood could potentially impact her kids, especially with “children and going through the parks … and people using in the parks with needles.”

The Saskatoon mom said she liked the suggestion that needle deposit boxes could be installed in neighbourhood parks for people who might be using drugs in those outdoor spaces.

Many at the meeting expressed concern that issues with drug use would increase with the arrival of the new wellness centre. Trista said she feels it’s important to be proactive in addressing the problem.

“Why do we have to wait for this to become more of a problem?” she asked. “Let’s get them up there before it becomes an even bigger issue than it already is.”

Support and social workers like Trista made up a large portion of the crowd gathered at the open house. Laura Zmud, a social worker who also works with the SPCA, said she wanted to learn more about whether the shelter will be able to appropriately accommodate animals as part of their work. She also wanted to learn more about the services the new wellness centre will provide, so she can offer the centre to the people she is assisting as a social worker.

Zmud said she felt confident in the centre when she left, and said she felt her questions and concerns were adequately addressed by Arcand.

The same was true with Shawn, a resident of Saskatoon’s downtown. Though he isn’t living close to the new centre’s location, he said he attended to learn more about what the new wellness centre will look like. He said he, and many who are living in the immediate neighbourhood, left the meeting feeling much more at ease about the centre.

“I’m very interested in it,” Shawn said.

A number of concerns were raised during the question-and-answer portion of the open house.

Some worried about whether people staying at the centre would be able to find transportation to access support services found downtown when the centre itself is in a different neighbourhood.

Arcand said that’s being handled by transportation the shelter can provide and through other mobile community supports.

Hundreds of people have been through the doors since the open house sessions began, Arcand said, pulling on blue booties and trying to get a better sense of what they can expect to come from the change.

Arcand said he’s been hearing all types of reactions, but Wednesday’s crowd was more critical than the visitors on Thursday. But he added he’s grateful to hear different perspectives and for the many offers of assistance he’s received from the community already.

“I think today was a really good eye-opener in regards to people now getting full information and seeing, actually, how the program works, and having honest conversations with people,” Arcand said.

The tribal chief said he also appreciated hearing support from the public for the centre’s strict rules prohibiting alcohol and drug use.

Arcand said he’s excited to see things coming together.

“(It’s) a new chapter in our lives with a quality green space, a big open space, lots of meeting rooms, lots of opportunity for community to come together and visit, and we’re excited to really get this done in the right way in a proper facility,” he said.

With the new, expanded space, Arcand said there will be more room for things like socializing, social supports, and storage for donated items — things he would have liked to do more of at the original location if space had allowed.