Mustard Seed shelter application moving to next stage
By Tim Kalinowski on February 11, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com
City council formally put the Mustard Seed’s application to create a permanent supportive housing facility at the Ramada Inn to bed, and moved the organization’s application to open a new sober emergency shelter at 110 13th Street South forward to the next stage.
In a bit of final housekeeping, city council formally cancelled a scheduled public hearing on the issue during Tuesday’s meeting after the Mustard Seed withdrew its application to rezone the hotel.
The Mustard Seed confirmed to The Herald in January it had been rejected for federal Rapid Rehousing dollars to buy the Ramada here in the city, and convert it to long term supportive housing for low income individuals in the community; thus prompting its exit from the public hearing process– a public hearing originally scheduled to be heard at this week’s regular city council meeting.
However, the organization still intends to open a temporary shelter for local homeless people preferring to live a sober lifestyle. City council voted 6-3 during Tuesday’s meeting to advance the Mustard Seed’s application to second reading and hold a public hearing on the application in the coming weeks.
The Mustard Seed has already finalized an agreement with the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen Society to provide nourishing meals at its new facility when it opens under the umbrella of the Christian charitable organization as Alpha House takes over the kitchen facilities at the Soup Kitchen’s current location.
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Note: This article has been updated with the correct address of 110 13th Street South– not Avenue as previously stated.
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Given that a vast majority of the homeless population are drug users, the mustard seed coming in only serving the “sober” people is more or less saying “we plan to be useless” isn’t it?
Is this another cash grab by pious “christians” looking to make money off of homelessness? I say another, because, well, we have a few of those already don’t we?
By Jove, I think UncleBuck finally gets it!!!! But, you are still naive’. The plan is “Get your foot in the front door”, then slowly change the mission statement.
Now you might want to reflect on the Ramada Request. The same thing would have happened there. They would have had a “hotel” that half or less of the beds were full (smaller subsidies from gov) . Then the Pious and Righteous would have said, we cannot let the Addicts freeze in the Dark so will bring them in, and suddenly you have a Ramada Drug Hotel. (Larger subsidies from Gov)
I am glad you suddenly realize its all or none, because those with a brain, already knew that! You either treat and house them all or you can pull the religious con job, pretend you are only serving those who wish to quit drugs, get your permit, then slowly change your mission statement once well nested in the community. Then it will be a SCS all over again.
The basis of their proposal is a person has to stay sober for 30 days? They must be miracle workers because intense programs fail even after 6-9 months of sobriety? So you know there will be” a lot of falling off wagons” that result in the site becoming another police nightmare. Mustard Seed plays on the Residents gullibility and heart strings. They say one thing when not permitted and do as they wish after they are. All you have to do is look at the reports of the Victoria BC facility.
Once permitted, within 18 months they will make application for another building to be built or existing modified, on the Western One property, each building will then apply for a permit for another stage of their master plan.
Building A will be the sobering site, Building B will be the temp/permanent housing site, Building C will be the detox site, Building D will be the Church (can’t forget that one) etc etc. Each Building will apply for a different level of Permit, thats how “foot in the door” becomes the “Elephant in the Room”
So with the Western One, in the end, you will get your wish, but you should not be exposing them at this point, they are on your side! In the end, UncleBuck, you get what you are now suggesting they are not doing, only now you have told the rest of Lethbridge of the “Con”, too bad, that poses a problem for them! Best to keep things on the hush hush and con the residents into thinking its just a “small step on a big property”!
So it would appear you can now identify a con (permit) when you see one, thats a first step, good for you! Oh, and Council will approve the permit as they participate in the “wink win, nod nod” !
Is this the right place? What’s the impact on local businesses? I am tired of the analytics, others can now take over, but, there will be losers in this, and they will be businesses who pay taxes and expect their hard work would result in a retirement/reward. Some will be very disappointed and devastated, others will barely survive, which I am sure was not their intent when opening a business.