The Cowichan Valley Minor Hockey Association has penned a letter to local decision makers, opposing their decision to open a seasonal emergency weather shelter at the community centre used by its athletes.
While it is is agrees that warm shelter is “an absolute critical need” and understands people need support “during these trying times,” the association’s Dec. 12, 2023 letter says its players have already felt “increasingly uncomfortable and unsafe” at the Cowichan Community Centre.
“The CCC grounds are already a host to much of the homeless population,” its executives wrote to the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) board of directors.
“We have children who can no longer walk into the arena unattended, and we have older teenagers hesitant to walk out to their vehicles alone at night.”
Global News has reached out to the Cowichan Valley Minor Hockey Association for comment. The district’s board said it couldn’t comment on the letter Monday, as it has not yet been officially received at a public meeting.
Last month, the CVRD’s board approved the use of the Cowichan Community Centre’s second-floor Heritage Hall as a warming centre. It will remain open until the end of March.
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In a news release, the district said it made the decision “as a means to support the unhoused population in the Cowichan region during extreme weather conditions” and would notify the public in advance of each activation.
“The CVRD and Emergency Management Cowichan will also continue to work with community partners to find a more suitable, dedicated location to provide this necessary emergency response measure,” it said on Dec. 1.
The hockey association, however, said that decision “moves the problem inside” a facility that hosts thousands of children daily. It cited “substantial drug use, overdoses, crime, drug paraphernalia, human excrement, loitering, and individuals suffering with mania, psychosis and anger who often lash out” among its concerns accompanying an increase in those experiencing homelessness in the region.
The executives questioned what security measures will be taken to ensure guests can still enter and exit the community centre safely and to limit drug use and leftover paraphernalia on-site. They also wondered why groups that use the centre frequently weren’t consulted on the decision.
In an interview, Ryan Wainwright, senior manager for Emergency Management Cowichan, said the district is relying on the expertise of its community partners — the Lookout Housing and Health Society — to ensure smooth operations at the site. Additional RCMP are also present when the warming centre activates, and security measures are in place to ensure guests can’t access other parts of the building.
“I can tell you to date, we haven’t had any significant issues and we’re working very closely with our security partners to ensure that continues,” Wainwright said.
The public was not consulted on the choice of location because the warming shelter is an “essential life safety intervention,” he added.
“This is in place at the Cowichan Community Centre this year because all efforts to find another location anywhere in the community failed this year,” Wainwright explained. “We’re exploring what our options may look like for next year.”
The Heritage Hall warming centre has opened a handful of times since December for about 12 hours overnight, with capacity for 20 spaces as well as storage space for personal belongings. It has been fully occupied all but once.
The hockey association’s letter will be discussed by the CVRD board later this week.
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