By Josh Hall

over 1,000 signatures

Petition calls for temporary shelter to stay at current location

Apr 27, 2021 | 10:17 AM

A petition asking Red Deer city council to reverse its decision forcing the relocation of Safe Harbour’s temporary shelter from downtown is gaining support.

Council voted March 29 to give Safe Harbour a two-month extension at its current location in the former Cannery Row building. In the meantime, The City of Red Deer agreed to help find a new location.

RELATED: Temporary homeless shelter to move from downtown

Unfortunately for Safe Harbour, there are currently no other sites in Red Deer zoned for that type of use, with the rezoning process typically taking at least six weeks to complete. This would leave Safe Harbour with just two weeks to relocate once City administration can bring a recommendation to council for them to vote on.

Dirk Heuer, a long-time Red Deerian and business owner, started the petition which has over 1,000 signatures in less than a week.

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It notes the number of people who typically use the current shelter on a daily basis, the loss of 24/7 security for surrounding area, and the need for more money to retrofit another building to be suitable as a shelter as some of the reasons why council’s decision was wrong.

Heuer describes forcing a move in the middle of a pandemic, the opioid crisis and even an outbreak of COVID-19 at the shelter, as absurd.

“It’s a very serious situation here. When I drive downtown and see someone that is struggling, be it they’re homeless or under the influence, I think ‘Oh man, how good is my life or our family’s life?’ I think those people must be so strong to do that every day, but how are they protected and how do they have hope that their life can change while living on the street?” Heuer asks.

“To blame everything on Safe Harbour’s clients, I think isn’t fair, so I started this petition because I feel a minority of people are very loud and very vocal.”

There have been 52 COVID-19 cases linked to the COVID-19 outbreak at the current shelte, including 22 active cases, as of Monday.

Kath Hoffman, Safe Harbour’s executive director, says seeing the numbers the petition has garnered has been a breath of fresh air.

“We’re in deep right now with everything going on in the community, with COVID, dealing with overdoses and opioid poisonings. It gets so heavy, and times are really stressful for everybody, but especially us on the frontlines,” she says.

“The community has come along and filled us all up again, forcing us to remember that we are helping people and working to build a healthier and safer community.”

Hoffman adds the situation has people on edge and taken a toll on her staff, who she points out will be forced to be away from Safe Harbour’s main facility if council selects a site too far from the downtown.

The temporary shelter is directly across the street from said facility.

“This is so unnecessary and it’s not going to have the results council is hoping for. We are helping our community so much right now, so to have this extra weight and stress on my staff and frontline folks who’ve been standing there the last year, it just drives me nuts.”