The Boyle Street Community Services building was evacuated Thursday morning because of flooding and will be shut down for several days.
According to Boyle Street communications manager Lance Beswick, the flooding was caused when workers digging in the street outside the centre hit a major water main, flooding the street and the basement of Boyle Street’s offices on 105 Avenue.
One-hundred clients and staff had to be evacuated from the agency.
There was about 60 centimetres of water in the basement and all water supply was cut off.
Boyle Street will remain closed Friday and through the weekend.
“It seems like not a huge amount of time but if you’re already vulnerable and you’re in crisis, Boyle Street is maybe a place that you’re coming and now that option has been taken away, so it’s tough,” director of operations Ian Mathieson said.
“It’s hard on the people we serve. We serve street-involved and marginalized folks who are already vulnerable.”
The flooding means the centre will be closed for at least five days.
“Which means people can’t access things like their mail, which gets sent here, they can’t access housing services, mental health, our drop in, providing meals throughout the day, ID storage, our education program, our youth unit,” Mathieson said.
The flooding has also forced the agency to change its Thanksgiving Dinner plans on Sunday.
The event will be moved to the Boyle Street Plaza’s main function room on 95 Street and 103A Avenue.
Boyle Street said PCL, the main contractor of Rogers Place, has agreed to cover all the additional costs of relocating the dinner.
Boyle Street Community Services is across 105 Avenue from Rogers Place.
With files from Emily Mertz, Global News
Comments