A mat inside the temporary/interim shelter operated by Safe Harbour in Red Deer's Railyard's neighbourhood. (Supplied/Safe Harbour staff)

By Jordan Davidson (Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow)

Stakeholders Meeting Sept. 8

City working on solutions for future home of temporary shelter

Aug 26, 2021 | 9:01 AM

With the future of Red Deer’s temporary shelter still in limbo, City officials remain vigilant in trying to secure a new location for the facility.

Safe Harbour is currently operating a temporary shelter at Cannery Row (5239 53 Ave), but that will come to an end when it shuts down on Sept. 30.

Where it will go after, is still up for debate. Land for purchase was unable to be secured by the organization which met their criteria, with Safe Harbour also unable to find anyone willing to rent-out a building to them.

Businesses and residents in the downtown core also had complaints about vagrancy and crime which they believe to be related to the shelter, which contributed to city council not extending the shelter’s zoning permit.

With the shelter’s closing date looming and no clear option for a new building in sight, the City is now reaching out to community agencies, businesses, and non-profit groups to come up with a solution, together.

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Kristin Walsh, Manager of Safe and Healthy Communities, says due to the time it takes to gather all the information requested by council and the upcoming municipal election, this issue won’t be brought up again until a November council meeting.

That means there will be no temporary shelter with the comparable capacity of Cannery Row for the month of October, which will lead to a reduction of services available.

Walsh says there are still resources available for those who need it, but not at the same level as they could provide at Cannery Row.

“We do still have shelters that are operating, although not at the capacity that we have available to us at Cannery Row.”

Walsh says the City is hosting a Community Collaboration Table on Sept. 8, which will bring together numerous agency stakeholders to discuss potential options to help anyone who may find themselves with fewer options available.

However, at this point, she’s not sure exactly what it will look like.

“It’s not a prescribed outcome at this point in time, so I can’t share what we’ll come up with because the point is to use the creativity and strategies that all of these community partners offer.”

Some of the groups involved in the collaboration table include the Ministry of Community and Social Services, health officials, several City departments, and service providers such as Safe Harbour Society, the RCMP, Downtown Businesses Association, and Central Alberta Crime Prevention Centre.

More information on the temporary shelter is available at www.reddeer.ca/temporaryshelter.