“I don’t know what it’s gonna look like to the provincial government or to our municipal regional partners in Edmonton if we implicitly or explicitly rely on that navigation centre”
Leduc city council on Monday will revisit a motion it passed to create overnight emergency shelter services in the city just 35 km south of Edmonton.
The sole shelter operator in the city, the Leduc Hub Association, closed its doors at the end of April after being unable to find a new building, prompting city council to find alternative solutions.
At the June 24 council meeting in a tight 4-3 vote, they passed a motion that would create overnight emergency shelter services during extreme cold weather events.
Coun. Ryan Pollard who brought the motion forward, said in a Friday interview that during the meeting there was a lot of discussion about Edmonton’s navigation centre, with suggestions to send Leduc’s homeless to Edmonton. He questions what has changed between the time they passed the motion and now.
Eyeing Edmonton’s navigation centre
“I have to wonder why are we looking at this issue again when we already made a decision. It’s frustrating to me,” said Pollard.
“I don’t think that a person from Leduc would be turned away at the navigation centre, but I don’t know what it’s gonna look like to the provincial government or to our municipal regional partners in Edmonton if we implicitly or explicitly rely on that navigation centre.”
Edmonton’s navigation centre, which was brought forward by the province, opened in mid-January after police tore down hundreds of homeless encampments across the city.
The centre, which operates out of the Karis Centre in the Hope Mission shelter on 107 Street, provides support for homeless people in the city, connecting them to income support, shelter, housing options, and services related to health care and mental health and addiction resources.
In a letter to the City of Leduc, the Leduc Hub said since they closed their doors two months ago, eight people experiencing homelessness have died. They offered three recommendations to council including questioning the city’s housing needs assessment report, considering publishing facts and research about homelessness and maintaining and developing local solutions to homelessness.
“The Hub board recognizes that emergency shelters alone cannot solve homelessness. We also recognize this service protects life and preserves dignity. Shelters alleviate the inhumane circumstances that erode people’s ability to be lifted from poverty, access critical social services, and transition into supportive housing,” said the letter.
‘Space in Edmonton’
Leduc Mayor Bob Young who voted against the motion said while he wants to find a solution, shelters are healthcare and fall under the jurisdiction of the province. He said overnight shelters were not a solution for homelessness and pushed for Leduc to send those who are homeless to the navigation centre in Edmonton.
“If you take a look at last year Edmonton doubled their shelter space so there’s ample shelter space in Edmonton that we could take advantage of,” Young said.
“I’m not sure why we’d want to get into the shelter business here in Leduc. I don’t think we have the resources.”
The emergency overnight shelter would cost Leduc $308,000 from their reserves and would operate from Nov. 1 2024 to April 30, 2025. The city would look at finding an external service provider to operate the shelter which would involve trailers being set up behind service-type buildings during extreme cold weather.
Centre not intended for regional needs
In a statement to Postmedia, a spokesperson for the Minister of Seniors, Community, and Social Services, said anyone struggling with homelessness can be seen at the navigation centre in Edmonton, but noted the centre is intended to serve Edmonton and usually operates near capacity seeing between 45 and 50 people daily.
“We are not encouraging organizations outside of Edmonton to bring clients to the Centre as this would create additional challenges, including getting them back to Leduc or their home communities,” said the statement.
The motion will be revisited at Leduc’s city council meeting on July 8.