Sixty-one per cent of respondents to a survey of downtown businesses regarding the Saskatoon Tribal Council’s action plan believe it’s on the right track when it comes to addressing the needs of those requiring shelter. Business owners were also asked from their perspective, should shelters and related services be concentrated downtown and more than half, at 55 per cent, said no.
Tribal Chief Mark Arcand spearheaded the initiative to get more homeless people off the streets and opened the temporary wellness shelter downtown, after being unable to secure accommodations elsewhere, in mid-December as another cold snap descended. The facility originally opened with 50 beds but in February indicated it had been serving around 55 guests since the first few days of operation. And it was in February that the City of Saskatoon gave the green light to STC to use the second floor of the city owned building in order to expand the number of beds. The lease on the temporary wellness centre is set expire on April 30th. The Tribal Council also has a street outreach team, engaging with the city’s most vulnerable people.
The reasons given for not being in favour of having a shelter and surrounding social services downtown include panhandling and harassment, concerns from employees working downtown, and a negative impression for visitors. On the other side, the top responses for those that believe the services should be downtown is the ease of access for people needing shelter, ease of access for those needing other social services, and fewer vulnerable people living on the streets in the downtown area.
