Summerside wants more homelessness services while steering clear of Charlottetown approach

Elected leaders in Summerside are telling P.E.I. MLAs they want to see the province take a different approach to homelessness than what was done in Charlottetown — in particular avoiding replicating the Community Outreach Centre.

The comments were made during a stop on the legislative standing committee on health and social development's tour of the province. The tour includes four stops, with a focus on policies and programs addressing homelessness in P.E.I..

Members of council and community groups painted a picture of the severity of Summerside's situation: one closely coupled with mental health and addictions, a lack of services in the community, no available shelter beds, no coordination between volunteers and little guidance on where to turn when someone is in crisis.

"I am not stating we need the funding at any cost. As a result of funding at any cost, we see what has happening in another area of our province. We don't want that," Coun. Carrie Adams told the MLAs.

"We want a method that is going to help people. And not one that is intended to help, but is actually causing grief and more people are getting hurt daily. We don't want that.

"We want funding and supports our residents deserve. We want it delivered to them in a respectable and responsible manner by professionals that are trained to deal with what residents are experiencing."

After the meeting, Adams — who was asked by residents to present at the meeting — told CBC News she was referring to Charlottetown's Community Outreach Centre.

That service has been plagued by criticism, primarily due to its location within the downtown core. The current operator would like to see it moved. Last month 300 people came out to a public meeting aboout crime in downtown Charlottetown, and the Community Outreach Centre was at the centre of the discussion.

"I personally can't speak to it because I have no first-hand experience," Adam said.

"What I can speak to is the idea of what is happening down there and that is not what we want or what we need in Summerside."

The city currently has two shelters: a six-bed low-barrier men's shelter operated by the Native Council of P.E.I and LifeHouse, an emergency shelter for women and children that was launched by community members. It has four rooms and a transitional housing expansion in the works.

But Mayor Dan Kutcher told MLAs the lack of beds and support services offered in the city is causing problems. He said he hears people are declining help because getting it means leaving the community. 

"The most important thing anyone can have in their life from a support side are other people who care about them. Usually that's family, maybe that's friends, maybe that's a stranger who met them here… Removing people from that security or that blanket, it just doesn't work," the mayor told MLAs.

"I kind of joke a little bit. Here we are. Homeless people have to commute to Charlottetown to get services."