Red Deer needs a better homeless shelter

In the past, there was a too much focus on so called ‘harm reduction’, which is a misnomer and a lie.

It was good most of our last City council voted to get rid of Red Deer’s drug consumption site, a form of harm reduction, forced upon Red Deer by the NDP government, driving out businesses in our downtown.

The NDP drug site facilitated a growing lawlessness, embedding and emboldening criminal elements, either abusing drug sites or preying on those living in addictions, some supporting addiction lifestyles through stealing or robbing businesses and families in our communities.

And harm reduction aids and abets those suffering in addiction to remain in addiction.

It is a dumb idea.

A Better Shelter Culture

Commencing this spring, Hope Mission will be the successor operator of shelter services.

That is good. A new shelter operator is an opportunity to make course corrections.

‘How’ shelter services are delivered are just as important as ‘where’ such services are delivered.

Shelter should not be a lifestyle. It should be a bridge—temporary, structured, and purposeful—toward stability, self-reliance, employment, and, as necessary, addiction recovery.

A better shelter culture supports individuals in their efforts to make positive changes in their lives, and in place of little or no expectations, such changes should be expectations of users of shelter services in Red Deer.

Expectations respect individuals, treating them as adults, as moral agents accountable to act for themselves, capable of growth, responsibility, and change—not as permanent victims of circumstances.

Better Shelter Services

There is also a proposal to move the homeless shelter out downtown Red Deer by the Red Deer Homeless Foundation. That is good too.

This produces other opportunities to be better.

Currently there are three separate downtown locations, depending on day and time, providing food service to those in shelter. That is not good – Red Deer has a small downtown.

Working together with the good organizations providing these services, a new location could consolidate food services at the shelter itself.

There should be bathrooms and showers which are accessible and available 24/7 at the shelter.

In addition to downtown, there is a shelter located in a residential neighborhood in Red Deer.

A new shelter location, with increased capacity to provide services differentiating between sober and non-sober users of shelter, can allow for that shelter to transition out of the residential neighborhood.

Shelters should be places individuals can work in, improving his or her circumstances at the shelter itself.

Both Calgary and Edmonton have Navigation and Support Centers reducing encampments and providing valuable services to individuals experiencing homelessness. These centers connect individuals to needed services: government ID, mental health and addictions, healthcare, financial support, addiction recovery and transportation. These centers are a success. It would be great to see this service in Red Deer, at the shelter itself.

There Must be Respect for Neighborhoods

Shelters do not exist in isolation. They exist in communities.

Shelter operators must be accountable. That is why shelter operators should not own shelters. If an operator fails to live up to community expectations, it needs to be subject to replacement.

Respect for neighbors means regular reporting and public forums for community members to raise concerns and provide feedback.

There should curfews for leaving shelter. Individuals should not be free to come and go in and out of the shelter throughout the night.

There should be a full-time 24/7 police presence at the shelter.

There Must be Better Policing

Law breaking should be ticketed and prosecuted. Failure to do so emboldens law breaking.

Red Deer should not be a desirable place for those choosing to live in addictions and choosing to commit crimes to support those addictions.

And Red Deer should be an undesirable place to live in encampments.

Any encampments in public parks and spaces should be dismantled immediately. One’s personal preference for camping over using a shelter is not justification for breaking the law.

Any properties where there is regular drug dealing or any other criminal activity should be investigated and shut down.

Any organizations that assist in illegal drug use or any other crime or are not good neighbors should not receive any taxpayer dollars.

Most of the crime in Red Deer is attributable to a small group of individuals.

In some places with municipal police forces, there is zero tolerance for law breaking with strict law enforcement for these individuals. Strict law enforcement makes these municipalities undesirable for these individuals, compelling them to leave. That is what Red Deer needs.

There have been reports of crime and disorder at the Turning Point location in our downtown. Turning Point built a steel privacy fence at the back of its premises where there are reports of regular illegal drug consumption. This location is only 200 meters from the downtown RCMP detachment.

City taxpayers pay for policing more than any other expense.

If the RCMP fails to better enforce the law, it may be in the public interest for Red Deer to consider transitioning towards a municipal police force, like most cities in Alberta.

An Opportunity to Lead

Leading sometimes requires rejecting failed orthodoxies.

Leading always requires speaking truth even if some do not like it:

Harm reduction is a lie.

Greater self-reliance and recovery produce hope.

Expectations are good.

Communities must be respected.

Laws must be enforced.

That is the better way for our beautiful City.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The views expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of rdnewsNOW or Pattison Media. Column suggestions and letters to the editor can be sent to news@rdnewsNOW.com.

by Jason Stephan

Red Deer needs a better homeless shelter

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