A request from BC Housing to have a temporary shelter remain on Elliott Street in West Quesnel for two more years has been voted down by City Council.
Several concerns with this location were raised during a special meeting that was held on Tuesday (July 21) night.
Councillor Debra McKelvie talked about the community being overrun with blatant in your face drug addiction and crime.
“As a Council elected to serve the entire community, we have to know when enough is enough. All of our citizens deserve to feel safe, secure, and protected and they do not. Our businesses are losing the battle every single day. How do people living in the neighbourhood feel about another shelter facility so close to where their children attend school ? That’s a big concern of mine. How do the people in the neighbourhood feel safe at night. I’ve seen letters where they’re getting bangs on their doors at midnight or even later than that and it’s quite terrifying.”
McKelvie also talked about police and fire department resources being stretched to the limit.
Despite all that, she called it “an agonizing decision.”
Councillor Mitch Vik said that neighbourhood had suffered a lot of disorder.
“This temporary measure, could it cause more harm in that neighbourhood in this community than it solves ? That neighbourhood has suffered a lot of disorder and the question we’re faced with is can that community, can that neighbourhood take on more, and unfortunately I think from the feedback that we’ve been receiving they cannot. There is a tremendous amount of disorder already and we’re at the point where it’s no longer fair to that neighbourhood.”
Another concern that was raised was that a temporary shelter would slide into a permanent one.
The School District, specifically Board Chair Lisa Boudreau, spoke about a number of incidents at nearby Riverview Elementary School.
The Quesnel Shelter & Support Society and BC Housing both made a presentation at the meeting in favour of the Elliott Street location.
Councillor Tony Goulet suggested that a long term solution was needed.
“Temporary shelters I think only address the needs in the short term. We’re going to be open for a year, we’re going to be open for another year and then what ? We’re going to be back at the same table. I think we need to look at a long term strategy here and how we do that. I think how we get there for this Council and future Councils is going to be very important as we look at the discussions. I just want to see that we come with a permanent plan that has measurable milestones, defines accountability, and we do regular public updates.”
Councillor Scott Elliott, who is the Chair of Council’s Housing Solutions Table, disagreed with waiting.
“There needs to be a solution for this winter coming up in my opinion. Everybody wants long term, there is no doubt about it, but we have to look at these individuals in the short term as well. We have to be able to keep them warm in the winter so that no one dies. This is extremely important to our community. Everyone deserves to have heat, everyone deserves to have a roof over their head.”
Councillor Martin Runge said that framing this choice as accept it or people will suffer oversimplifies a complex situation.
“Rather than being pressured to adopt this today, I’d rather consider that solution considering the safety for our citizens, considering all the things we’re talking about and I believe that rejecting this proposal will push us to look at other options, other options where we collaborate more, we look for a stronger solution, so I am committed to working with the community to identify that.”
Council did commit to a long term shelter strategy back on June 23 of this year.
The vote was 5-2 against the temporary shelter remaining on Elliott Street with Councillor Laurey-Anne Roodenburg joining Elliott in favour of the request.
The shelter operated for just one year in that location from January through April of last year.
BC Housing said it was used on average by 8 people per night.
