Province applying to keep shelter, outreach centre on Park Street open longer
CBC
The province says it will be applying to keep its emergency shelter and outreach centre on Park Street in Charlottetown open for a little longer.
A temporary agreement with the city of Charlottetown has allowed the shelter to be open since December 2023, while the outreach centre opened in March 2024. Without an extension, both will close one year from their opening.
"We have a bit of breathing room right now, but we need time to plan for the future and how we manage homelessness and various issues around homelessness," said Housing, Land and Communities Minister Rob Lantz, whose department recently sent letters to residents in the area.
He said it wouldn't be possible to find another location by the time those agreements expire.
Lantz didn't specify how long the extension request would be for.
Lantz, who is in Calgary to learn more about how that city tackles its homelessness problem, said he doesn't want the services to stay on Park Street forever.
"My long-term vision for this site is not a permanent facility, not in the form it operates right now," he said. "My vision is to see these types of services spread more evenly around the city."
The minister's letter said he knows lots of people are going to be disappointed, but an increasing number of people need the services.
"The ideal situation would be that emergency shelters and types of services that are offered at the outreach centre are not required, but I don't see that in the foreseeable future and it's probably not realistic in this world we live in, so we need to deal with it," said Lantz.
CBC News spoke to several residents who live on Park and Beach streets.
"I'm OK with it. I mean, these poor folks, they need a place to stay too, right?" said Brent MacRae, who lives on Beach Street.
MacRae said that since fencing went up around the complex earlier this year, foot traffic through his yard and street have decreased.
Another Beach Street resident, Sheena Gellatly, agrees.
"It's been very quiet and I understand that there's a need for it and it has to be somewhere," she said. "I don't think anybody particularly wants it in their backyard, but it has to be somewhere. And I understand that there's a great need for it."
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