City issues statement on homeless camps
By Lethbridge Herald on July 8, 2022.
Herald photo by Al Beeber
A homeless camp is seen in the city Friday near the Civic Centre. The city has issued a statement on the situation.CITY OF LETHBRIDGE
Many cities across Canada have seen an increase in homeless encampments within their communities, and Lethbridge is no exception. Over the past year, there has been an increase in encampments in the community. During the summer months, we expect to see more encampments due to the warmer weather.
Encampments pose a safety risk to both the individuals living within them, as well as the community. There have been increased incidents of overdoses, illegal activity and aggressive behaviour in and around encampments.
The City of Lethbridge continues to work with stakeholders on a collective impact approach to improve the encampment response process while protecting the dignity of the most vulnerable in our city.
It is important to note that the City of Lethbridge does not currently have a dedicated encampment response team. Rather, a response is coordinated through a number of services and departments.
When calls come into the Safe Community Call Centre (SCCC) regarding street behaviours, needle debris, biohazards, or encampments, they are triaged for action. If the call is about an encampment, the SCCC will assess the location and details with the caller. The response and timeline for resolution will depend on a number of factors, including whether the site is active or abandoned.
A coordinated encampment removal is triggered when there is an immediate safety concern, illegal activity, or violation that requires it to be removed. Advance notification is provided of encampment response dates so that individuals can prepare and outreach is provided. If necessary, the Lethbridge Police Service may provide enforcement. On the scheduled encampment response date, all coordinated partners arrive onsite to work together and with the individuals affected to clean up the area and determine the next steps.
An Outreach Mobile Team providing regular support to individuals in encampments is expected to be operational in late July. This team will prioritize making connections and providing access to services for those living in encampments.
We expect encampment removal will be a continual process. When encampments are removed, they will likely return or relocate to a new location. There are many factors as this is a complex social issue and is exacerbated by a current lack of permanent supportive and transitional housing in our community as an alternative.
The City is in the process of formalizing a comprehensive strategy and identifying the roles needed to address each situation over the coming months. Some of these roles are in the process of being filled.
For more information on the Encampment Response Process, and other initiatives Community Social Development is working on, please visitwww.lethbridge.ca/csd.
If you have an encampment concern, please contact the Safe Community Call Centre at 1-825-399-SAFE.
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Supportive Housing should be staged. I suppose if you want to follow Edmonton and spend a billion dollars only to find that it attracted more people to the area so they could also get supportive housing then go ahead and make the same mistakes!
Edmonton after spending $1billion found they put up 900 people only to find that their total needing housing was 2800 which jumped as soon as it was offered.
The Crisis Lethbridge now sees is a result of continue can kicking down the road. Had you made decisions instead of studies we would not be in this position, or at worse, in a position to build ANOTHER building.
Instead we talk of Conceptual Designs by Architects, and toss out taxpayer money like its an endless supply. I can give you a Conceptual Design for a $1.20, in fact here it is free!
Quick Erect Steel Buildings! There you go, if you want, you can pay me more and I will tell you how to place them on the property so the “steel buildings” look like Steel Buildings sitting on a property!
I can tell you that if you pick a piece of property in the area of the Picture Butte Turnoff and Crowsnest, that Mom and Dad at Standoff will be forever Grateful for your new Bus System.
SideBar- This will allow them to see their children and perhaps volunteer at the facility to try to bring their children back to their community. The Bus is free to anyone living in Standoff, or the facility, or has a child in the facility!
If the property does not have sewer, then let me quickly reach into my cache of knowledge on what you do! No Charge! When you install the septic system make sure you use 2 tanks per system. The first tank catches Buddies jacket, underwear, and bedding when he/she goes on a high that allows them to be creative, the second tank sorts the solids from the fluids normally. The first tank will be custom so as to screen foreign objects before they get to the system. That tank will have to be pumped almost daily.
The Buildings
Use City Engineers to calculate the higher points on the property to ensure downflows to septic fields. Then pour 4-5 slabs 100×200 or if you want to spend more taxpayer money 100×300. Allow the slab to cure for 30 days.
During that 30 days, gravel and pack the areas around the slabs and install well and septic, or city water and septic, or city water and city sewer. No matter which system you install you require a catch tank for Buddies Jacket. So if using city sewer you still need a catch tank! Use city engineers to ensure proper downflows.
Deliver the first quick erect building and build it. It takes 30 days for the slab to cure and about 30 days to stand the steel structure and side it. Put in your doors (no windows) and ensure it is lockable. Prepare a stable road access to that building because larger equipment will create ruts.
Now pre order all your kitchen equipment, dining equipment and bunks and lockers. Place it in that single building that has been built, while you construct the other buildings. So 45-60 days from slab laying you should be 1) building the other buildings, accepting delivery of kitchen equipment etc etc. 2) Taking delivery of the other steel buildings.
If you are building 4 buildings contract to 3 electrical companies, and 3 plumbing companies and 3 foam insulation companies prior to the start of the build ensuring there is a sewer stub and electrical stub in the concrete floor. On one side of the slab there is a “utility trench” that runs the length of the building. It carries your sewage line and electrical. This is free as well, no charge. Place drains in the floors that then run to the sewage stub in the trench. Now when installing showers / toilets you build them around the drain. When someone pukes all over the floor or decides that reaching a toilet is just to much of a bother, you wash the area down with a firehose.
Inside finishing
5/8ths painted plywood with a fireproofing is what is needed. Why? well buddy will want to put his fist through the wall every once in awhile and with this solution, all you need is the presence of medics which will be onsite to repair his or her broken hand.
Now that you have the idea!
These people are not “residents” they are people that have chosen Lethbridge because of its unique availability of drugs and Bible Punchers that want to make everything our fault and absolutely nothing “their fault”!
You can assume that the ahole residents of Lethbridge will never provide enough, and God will curse us all for not providing a 4 minimum or 5 star hotel to cater to both God’s disciples (non profits) and his flock (addicts)! This is a given, so accept, no matter what we do we are all damned! However, I offer the residents of Lethbridge an out,” just blame me”, as God has big plans for me already! I will take responsibility for this 1 Star Steel Building Fiasco and accept the “smite” so you can continue on your journey to the pearly gates! Deal?
We can plan and plan for a 5 star hotel that looks pretty so the Non Profit who is running it can have a spacious office with a great view and underground parking so they never have to get wet or cold. Then overtime watch the 4-5 star fall to a ZERO Star as the addict destroys it, or we can build the Steel buildings and hose down the human feces into drains in the floor and repair hands attempting to smash through 5/8ths plywood. If you want a prelude on how your architects building with nice entrance, foyer, and sitting areas will be treated, visit the tent city behind the civic center and try to figure out how you intend on getting that “turd” into the sewage system in the “expansive foyer”!
I am available night and day to advise the city but, not to study a solution (kick can down the road). You can reach me in the Common Sense Aisle of any part of this city! I realize that “Aisle” will be difficult to find because there aren’t many Aisles like that in this city! Any consultations will require either Beer and a Smoked Meat sandwich for lunch or Coffee and a Donut. Charge it to the nonprofit, trust me, they can afford to pay for it!
All said tongue in cheek but you get the jist,……. or do you?
PS To get more of an idea of what I suggest, please visit the entire site but focus on two pages which are https://lethccc.com/lethbridge.html and https://lethccc.com/standoff.html
Have a wonderful day!
Some good ideas there! I think the best way it so put the shelter out by Kipp, bordering the reserve. 10 minutes from downtown Lethbridge and get have it run properly instead to the gong-show we call Alpha House. The operators have no respect for our city or the people that stay there.
Not allow any encampments, period in our city! Could be go and camp across the river, along the river? Of course not, the Blood Police would be there immediately to move us along!
Two names I have issue with and why!
1) Most Vulnerable
2) Homeless
Most Vulnerable is a Social Services/Non Profit attachment to the people that suffer a lack of housing. For ease of explanation let me give you this example. If there were 30 horses in a field and 1 cow, do you call the group a Herd of Horses or a Herd of Cows if trying to cover with one descriptor?
Nonprofits want to call them a Herd of Cows whereas you and I call them a Herd of Horses. Why?
Within the Herd of Horses is a Cow, the Cow represents the truly homeless person. A person you and I remember as the person who used to beg for money with a sign in his/her lap and that was the extent of “the danger”.
The remainder (Horses) represent the Drug or Alcohol Addict who will mug you, attack you while on Meth, destroy property, break into your home to support their habit etc. So nonprofits continually refer to the herd as a herd of Cows in hopes you do not realize that the descriptor is not only foolish but also invalid
I have always been taught to call a spade a spade. You can lie, if you like but when I look at the herd, I see Horses, I acknowledge there is a Cow but its a herd of Horses! So do I treat the Cow the same way as the Horse? Of course not they are in fact 2 different species, even though having similar grazing characteristics.
So if you were to ask me whom is the “Most Vulnerable” it would be the cow as, he/she is not a Horse. The Horses, if they turn on the Cow” would defeat the Cow. Hence the “most vulnerable” in this case. So there is a caring package for the Horse and there is a Caring Package for the Cow.
Homeless
If you describe Homelessness the same way, you get two distinct descriptors, you get the nonprofit descriptor and you get a common sense descriptor.
Nonprofits call everyone Homeless so they can “milk” the most money out of the system to assist “the homeless”! To them, how they got their is unimportant. I, on the other hand believe that how they got their is important.
Why? Because it is the only way to structure a care package, just like you would do for a Horse vs Cow
You have the Cow, which in this case is the true Homeless person and is almost invisible among the horses, you do see them (but rarely) in Lethbridge and they try to help themselves, they gather bottles metal, etc and push a cart around and up to the bottle depot. They are trying to lift themselves up and I believe are worthy of being treated separately with a care package designed just for them!
Then you have the Horses, who take all their money they have as well as all the money they can steal and shoots it into his or her arm or drinks it away! The Horses make life miserable for the Cow while the Cow attempts to get a leg up on life and is always beaten up and relieved of his money by the Horses. So, you design a care package that is a separate caring program for the Cow!
The Cow, lost his home due to bad luck, lost job, perhaps disability etc , the Horse lost his home because his parents kicked him out for drug use or, he lost it because drugs are more important then paying rent. You may think it does not matter how he got there but it does! Why? because it demonstrates what is more important to both groups. One group is working hard to get a home (Cow), one group is working hard to support their habit, a home is a secondary issue or “sidebar of sorts”! A truly addicted addict will select a syringe over a warm place to stay for the night. So the packages have to be tailored for that thought process. It also tells you how the horse intends on treating his home if given one. Things better be bolted down and no wrench handy or it will be sold to support the habit!
Now, if you want to join in with the nonprofits and call them homeless (Herd of Cows) by all means go ahead. But, I want to be there when you try to milk that Horse as you continue your charade!
So I have 2 plans, one for the Horses, and one for the Cow. You can read the plan at https://lethccc.com/indigenous.html
Lets try to stop the nonprofits and City Admin Staffers from pretending they are always “about to milk the horse”, and start calling a spade a spade!
I am not a racist, I have no ill will against Horses or Cows, in fact I am trying to give a home to both but you would be surprised the “resistance” and ” private agenda’s” that are around this city. Every solution is eyed to see if someone is losing their slice of the $100,000 pie. I have no interest in the $100,000 or a slice and have no want or need to profit.
I want to help the city, help the Blackfoot and provide my part to reconciliation! I have proposed to the Council and Chief of Blood that I would be willing to put on a presentation of my proposal. I have not received any acknowledgement or for that matter a No and it has been 2 months without a word! Just total silence which makes me wonder whether they care as much about their people as they say they do!
The time for studies is over, its time for action! I will donate as much of my time as needed, but, not to sit around creating meetings that result in intellects deciding another study is needed! Let me know when you want to start, I will be there!
The plan is not perfect so we answer questions as we get them https://lethccc.com/qa.html
Dennis, the City has an action plan:
1] use the vague term ” working with stakeholders” to justify formulating anything definitive;
2] stretch consulation to the summer recess of Council so as to eliminate the need for further discussion;
3] resume unproductive discussion in fall;
4] hope for early snows and/or cold to force campers out of tents;
5] structure photo -op of removal crews so as to show action being taken to seriously address citizen concerns.
6] spend more $ on consultants, committees, intense discussion with stake holders etc over winter months and pray the sitauation does not redevelop next summer.
7] If it does repeat…..refer to step 1]
Fear of being wrong or fear of being seen as a Racist which is perpetuated by a few Indigenous in Lethbridge keeps most from speaking out. The other half are afraid to lose business, or afraid of the City Staffers. Which is a reality, some businesses feel that if they speak out bylaw officers would be all over them! Then you have the multi-million dollar churches who state their position and the parishioners fall into line.
I have always been the type that you make a decision and move on it. Adjust as it progresses but have a clear picture of where you are going. I do not let others influence me, never did when I was in the Military either. If I was directed to get it done, I got it done, I did not go into lengthy studies, or consultations so I could appear to procrastinate. Make the decision, make the money appear and get it done!
Those that procrastinate, waffle, avoid decisions just make it twice as hard later as it will be twice as bad as it is now.
We need to shake up the Councillors, they may think they are doing this the right way but in fact they are going to collide with the Agri-Center opening and Addicts in Motels again. Then the procrastination will be more than obvious. Perhaps AlphaHouse was able to bypass Council last time because the Province handed them a cheque to “get er done” giving the same opportunity this winter will show procrastination does not work!
Who makes a lot of money? I am in my 8th decade on a fixed income, I just believe you do not profit on the misfortunes of others. Did you assume that because I have no interest in pay I must be rich? Ever hear of community service? Rather cynical wouldn’t you say?
I own no property downtown, I do not have a business downtown and I am not in the affected area, and am totally unconflicted. I have vowed I will donate any money to charity if for some or any reason I make any from this endeavor. I have the cities and the Blackfoots best interests at heart. I am doing this as my contribution to reconciliation before I croak. Any other questions?
We have lots of good people with good intentions. They’re from all political and religious persuasions. They’re all working, in their own way, toward what most of us consider to be worthy goals for the homeless addicts. Good on them.
The problem is the homeless addicts’ primary goal is this… stay high or die. And they really don’t care which way that plays out for them. In the meantime they’ll participate in whatever program but not for the reasons we think.
They’ll pretend they want to transition to housing, get clean, whatever, if they know of a way to scam your program and somehow squeeze more dope out of the scam. They can be quite imaginative. From each other they learn how to milk whatever program the well intentioned can concoct and fund. They can, like normal people, estimate the cost/benefit ratio for whatever effort the scam requires, make a decision, see what shakes out.
This is hard for a lot of healthy people to accept but it’s a fact… they want to die, staying high is just what they do in the meantime The only thing that stops them from jumping off the bridge is the fear of what awaits them on the other side. Jumping is intentional and maybe the Bible is right… maybe you DO go to Hell for that. Eternity is a long time and maybe, as a cruel joke, Lucifer doesn’t allow dope. On the other hand dying from an overdose can be construed as an accident, maybe an accident St. Peter can overlook. If there is no afterlife then they’re released from the unbearable pain of what they see as their destiny in this life.
There is only one reason they roam the streets… to get more dope. And therein lies the solution. Setup an encampment and drop off free dope and paraphernalia every day. They’ll consume it and die which is the only thing they really want. There is no other solution that works for them. Remember… if it doesn’t work for them then, in the end, it won’t work for us either.
I hate the “let ’em die” solution, I hate it hard, but nothing else works for them. If you don’t know that then you don’t really know them. Go ahead with whatever other solution you think works but in the end you’ll learn.
What about the 0.1% that do get clean and “normal” again? Encampments and free dope won’t kill them so don’t worry about it.
I have to take issue with this. There are answers to these issues, but in my opinion “whitey and self interested Indigenous get in the way”. There is a conclusion that Indigenous respond to Indigenous help more favorably by a factor of 4 to 1. Indigenous whether alcoholic or drug addict still have a respect for Indigenous elders!
Couple those 2 issues with the new 30 day Sublicade (sp) injection and I believe there is a better chance of rehab today then there has been for years. Add to this people like Alvin Mills and his recovery camp and things are starting to take shape.
There are high acuity issues, mental illnesses, fetal alcohol syndrome issues among the addicted. Many of whom will never recover, do not want to recover, and may never recover however, dying in a back alley is not the answer. So my proposal which does not address Rehab is designed to address those that do not rehab. Many including the Provincial Government believe that they will just put everyone on Sublicade(sp) and 6 months from now all the addicts will be gone? The facts speak otherwise. I will allow them to live in their fantasy but I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid. Why? Because 95% will die as addicts. So we create a home, which is bunk and locker, and it is his or hers until they day he/she completes rehab or is dead. You do not lose that locker and bunk because you went on a 5 day bender. Its yours until the end. The Province balked at the idea because they thought they would be billed for an empty bed, some nonprofits may try that, but the city will have to audit to ensure it does not happen!
So I propose the Steel Building retreat. One of the things that somewhat irritates me is the supposition that this can all be done downtown. There are a number of reasons why it should never be done downtown, and why we should put this retreat or facility on the outskirts, the least of which is Racism. If the Indigenous think Lethbridge is racist now, and some take that shot numerous times a week, just install the addicts into our downtown and watch what happens!
The idea is to cooperate with Standoff and the Blood. I believe my concept will work for both. If you have a problem child on the Reserve, and Mom and Dad are at wits end, you drive them to this facility and he/she gets a bunk and locker until they choose a different life style.
Do no Harm to Anyone should be the battle cry of all! We can do this, it can be done, we just need some Beta Dogs to take the reins and step up as Alpha’s!
If Lethbridge ends up with 700 addicts as I predicted and housing at this facility is getting tight, order up another steel building. Anyone that assumes that they can deal with 700 addicts downtown is smoking better stuff then the legal places sell!
This is not rocket science because if it was that would make me a rocket scientist! Its simple, its compact, it works, and it can be done to the satisfaction of all involved and I mean ALL. So lets not study the study that was studied because it deserves another study…Calling all Alpha Dogs…time to throw your hat in the ring and commit!
truly wish you light.
Since people have been talking about buildings.
How about a Sprung Structure somewhere functional and appropriate?
The company manufactures spectacular, functional, custom-made buildings and is located right here in Southern Alberta. I believe there is a Sprung -made Tesla manufacturing plant somewhere. Could be done quickly, perhaps cost effectively.
Sprung is fabric supported by steel. Don’t think it could withstand a meth attack, I may be wrong but I have looked at them.