Members of the Mayor’s Task Force On Homelessness Community Safety and Wellbeing met with residents today, Wednesday June 26, to answer their concerns and questions.
Much of the talk revolved around a proposed camp, which would involve setting aside a parcel of land outside of Moir Park, building some minor facilities and allowing unhoused people to set up tents.
“We’re asking the community to support a tent pad, an outhouse, some water totes, a dumpster and perhaps somewhere they can store their food,” said Cranbrook’s Social Development Coordinator Marcell Germer.
“The outcome of that will hopefully be that people will decide to go there because they know they can have a shower or go to the bathroom.”
Germer said this is a temporary solution while the Taskforce devotes time to long-term ideas.
“We want to find a solution that supports our vulnerable population and we want to make sure our community feels safe,” said Germer.
Jamie Jenkins, East Kootenay Addiction Services Society Executive Director, said they have laid out five recommendations to City Council.
This includes communication with the community, a temporary outdoor living space, a day-pay program, a 24-hour drop-in centre and common intake forms.
“The common ground space is not anyone’s ideal option. I didn’t spend my entire career to fight for the right for someone to set up a tent in an open field,” said Jenkins.
“I don’t think any of us see it as a solution, but it is something that can hold us while we put in other supports to move them on the housing continuum. This is one piece of a phased system to help people and support all of our community members.”
Residents brought forward questions on who would be responsible for this shared living space and how people living there would be held accountable.
Germer said the camp will give responsibilities to the people who decide to stay there.
“While we can’t charge rent, we are creating a system where they are contributing back. They are going to earn money and be part of the community and help solve some of these problems. From them it will spread out,” said Germer.
“You make people accountable by making them responsible for their own neighbourhood.”
Germer said people without steady shelter will have few connections.
“With the transient nature of being unhoused, we can’t get any continuity of services. So we can’t hold accountability if we talk to someone one day and then we can’t find them the next day,” said Germer.
“The only way to build accountability and get re-engagement with community is by building relationships with people and understanding how they got there in the first place.”
Residents raised concerns about discarded needles and pipes that have been found in the community.
Jenkins said organizations try to clean up used drug paraphernalia as often as they can.
“Ankors tracks the amount of harm reduction supplies leaving and the amount recaptured. I believe the last report said Ankors had a 98 per cent recapture rate,” said Jenkins.
Mayor Wayne Price said the city and local organizations are doing what they can, but much of the responsibility lies within the provincial and federal government’s jurisdiction.
“These issues are happening in our community, but they’re not local government responsibility. If you look at the root cause of a lot of those problems, it’s the senior level of government who has responsibility for those,” said Price.
“They have the legislation that we cannot adhere to or go in a different direction.”
Price said the city is doing what it can to help.
“We felt we had to do something, the concerns and complaints were getting overwhelming,” said Price.
“It was pretty clear that we didn’t belong in that business, but it was more apparent that we better do something. We don’t have any responsibility there, but at the end of the day, we have a moral responsibility to the community to engage.”
All of the feedback and questions gathered from the public will be taken into consideration by the Taskforce and used to create a plan in the future.
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