Saskatoon Tribal Council shelter will face cuts after new proposed shelter opens: province
CTV
The proposed downtown location for the city’s newest homeless shelter is drawing criticism from the chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC), which runs the city’s largest emergency shelter.
The proposed downtown location for the city’s newest homeless shelter is drawing criticism from the chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC), which runs the city’s largest emergency shelter.
The City of Saskatoon announced the proposed location on Friday — a former Saskatchewan Transit Company parcel depot behind the old bus station on Pacific Avenue destined to be renovated with a $250,000 commitment from the province.
“Is 30 beds really going to make a difference,” STC Chief Mark Arcand asked reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Or, do we invest in the 135 to 200 people a night and get them into services through [the emergency wellness centre], through Salvation Army, and through other programs that are already established and say, guys, we have more of an impact with the warmup shelters for the winter; guaranteed from the province.”
Arcand says the city and the province missed an opportunity by not consulting STC in their choice, given the knowledge the organization has gained through its operation of the wellness centre, a drop-in shelter with a capacity around 106 beds.
He says they’ve been on the front lines of the homelessness crisis for two years at the Fairhaven shelter, and he expressed some concerns that this new shelter opening will mean the province cuts funding to the wellness centre.
In a statement to CTV News on Wednesday afternoon, the Ministry of Social Services confirmed it was looking to reduce the capacity at the Fairhaven shelter as it looks to move toward "a model of smaller shelters going forward."
