Council votes to secure approval for temporary sober shelter

By Lethbridge Herald on August 10, 2022.

Herald photo by Al Beeber The number of tents dropped after a cleanup last week at the Civic Centre field, but the site has since returned to house nearly as many shelters as before.

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The Civic Curling Centre could be the temporary new home of a sober shelter. 

Council passed by a 6-2 margin in a special meeting Tuesday morning – councillor Rajko Dodic was absent – to approve a three-part resolution calling for administration to apply for development approval for the shelter.
The motion also called upon administration to act as the applicant “through the co-ordination of project development including but not limited to processes of development approval and safety codes permitting design space, construction and neighbour engagement.

The third part of the motion asks administration to return to council with agreements with results from public engagement and the budget implications.

Councillors John Middleton-Hope and Ryan Parker voted against the motion brought forward by deputy mayor Jenn Schmidt-Rempel.

The motion was presented after council returned from a lengthy in camera session requested so interim City Solicitor Adam Faust could answer in private legal questions brought forward by Parker who made it clear in council chambers and a subsequent media scrum that he opposed the idea.

The meeting featured lengthy debate about the need for housing solutions and concerns about safety in the tent city at Civic Centre.

Takara Motz, operations manager of Community Social Development, told council before their break that last week before a cleanup at the Civic Centre field there were 45 tents set up with multiple occupants. That number dropped to 18 but by Tuesday morning, numbers were back up to 44.

Schmidt-Rempel said after the meeting a sober shelter “does help people who are living in the encampment, who are looking for that type of treatment” and move into a sober shelter space.

“It’s a long-term strategy. The province has looked for commitment from us to offer them the space or help them find a space here in our community for a sober shelter. It is also in line with our strategy to help people in the encampment who might be looking at recovery and moving into a sober shelter space. So it does help those people move into appropriate housing space where they can get the assistance they need,” said the deputy mayor.

The deputy mayor added the situation this summer is different from the summer of 2021.

“We need a number of appropriate housing facilities and capabilities throughout this city.”

She said the city needs to get a “really good handle” on what type of services are needed in Lethbridge. It’s been determined between 40 and 60 people would use the sober shelter. There are others with different needs and care needs.

She said the city needs to learn what “the appropriate housing continuum looks like because it is different than other communities.”

During discussion on the motion, Schmidt-Rempel said council won’t be moving forward until it gets a report back.

“This is a proactive action by council. We know that we need this and it’s something that the province has challenged us to find a location” and the City may be looking at operational funding from the Alberta government.

Mike Fox, Director of Community Services, told council the curling club would be a temporary location and a permanent location would have to be found in the future.

“The Civic Centre master plan is underway and it is expected to be completed” and that plan would outline use of the centre.

The curling club is now used for storage and training purposes by Lethbridge Police Services, he said.

Councillor Jeff Carlson asked if there is work ongoing to determine a permanent site. Fox responded, saying the location would be “a quick start-up” compared to other sites and more public engagement and discussions would need to be done to establish a permanent place for the sober shelter.

During debate of the motion, several councillors who supported it said council needed to act, adding a perfect solution doesn’t exist.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen voiced his support, reiterating it is a temporary fix and is coming back to council.

“Putting those that are in sobriety and those that are not, struggling with addiction, in that same area we’ve been told numerous times is not the smart thing to do. I love the idea of this health campus…but even at that time those that are sober should not be put in an area that is going to be mostly filled with those that are addicted. We don’t want them to fall back into addiction.”

Hyggen said he’s walked through the encampment numerous times and spoke to individuals.

“Those that I’ve spoken to are not those that are sober in that area, hence the reason why I believe there’s an element of safety. It’s not safe. I do believe that some people have been dealt sometimes the wrong card and they’re just down on life. So I think that hand up and to help those that are trying to get their lives back on track, I think this is a great thing. It’s a start,” said the mayor.

Hyggen emphasized its only going to the curling area at the front of the Civic Centre.

“This information will come back but it helps us to be able to get the funding that is required from the province that is needed to help these sober individuals find a shelter for them.”

Acting mayor Belinda Crowson was in favour of the motion saying “politics is the art of the possible. This is something we can work on, it is proactive, it is something that is within the purview of council to get this moving.”

She said the city has to come to the table with housing initiatives which she said is a reason Lethbridge is being turned down for grants and other things.

“This is a pragmatic approach. This is something that is not perfect but it is an interim solution that will get us moving. We know we have to provide a full spectrum of housing from shelters to transitional housing et cetera, et cetera. We need to start moving those pieces into places,” adding the sober shelter is an essential piece of the puzzle.

Parker opposed the resolution, calling it an easy decision. He said the city hasn’t done a good job enforcing existing laws in place and while people have rights, he said people also have to follow the rules.

“I think we’re being risk-adverse, being worried that we’re going to be challenged by some Charter or something like that. We’ll challenge us, challenge us, take us to court. If you don’t like what we do so be it. And if we lose that so be it, at least we did our best to fight on behalf of our community to make sure that the laws are followed,” said Parker, adding he was disappointed Lethbridge police weren’t at the council meeting, calling them major stakeholders who could have answered some questions.

Parker said he believes LPS is under-funded and the encampments are a consequence of that.

John Middleton-Hope was also opposed.

The councillor said he doesn’t dispute the need to provide for temporary housing “but to be candid we’ve looked at this for the last three years and this is what we’ve come up with.”

He said he’s leery about the cost-effectiveness of the plan and the social impact on the city going forward.

“I don’t support the location of a temporary shelter at the Civic Centre. I think what we’re doing and to paraphrase (what) councillor Parker indicated, what we’re doing is we’re creating another group of people who are actually being housed by us at the same campus.”

He said a sober shelter there will compound the problem in the area and it won’t be a solution. He said he’d support looking at other locations, though.

Councillor Jeff Carlson supported the motion, saying while not perfect it is a step forward.

Councillor Nick Paladino also supported the motion, calling it “a very tough decision” noting council will again be addressing the matter this fall. He pointed out council wasn’t issuing a permit but rather was approving an interim shelter.

“There’s going to be a lot of community engagement, robust I would say, and there’s budgetary implications and that’s a big one for me.”

Councillor Mark Campbell voiced his support saying “this is not the permanent solution. As we’ve discussed at length how this is such a complicated issue…. it’s a human rights issue, there’s so much that we lack in this city in terms of affordable housing and transitional homes and all those sorts of things.”

Closed meeting discussions on the encampment update will remain confidential pursuant to Section 27 (privileged – legal) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Council also voted to appoint Hyggen to a stakeholder working group – that was discussed in the closed session – which will be formed to assist with the concerns in the community. That group will be comprised of members from several Government of Alberta Departments as well as the Blood Tribe.

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