The city of Saskatoon passed some patchwork solutions to the problem of not having enough public washrooms in the Riversdale, Pleasant Hill and Riverbank areas, but a permanent solution currently running in Alberta could still be on the table.
The city is purchasing a used washroom trailer that will be staffed and run 24 hours a day until the end of October. Staffing will also be supplied to the Riverbank washroom location.
Meanwhile, one of the options left is to have a staffed facility that offered washrooms, showers and laundry services for residents experiencing homelessness. The staff at this facility would help these people with accessing services on site, acting as a one-stop shop for accessing resources.
While the option wasn’t considered at city council Wednesday, the city’s director of emergency management, Pamela Goulden-McLeod, said it was something they were still interested in pursuing.
“Council has directed us to look at longer-term and more permanent solutions going forward,” Goulden-McLeod said.
She said this facility would require integrating partnerships with the provincial government and other agencies.
“We have been looking to Edmonton, they’ve got a very successful pilot program there, and so we’re looking what we can learn from them and if in the future we can make recommendations implementing that in Saskatoon.”
She said that model in Edmonton is a combination of resources from the province, the city and the community.
Goulden-McLeod said it would help meet those immediate front-line needs of homeless individuals as well as help them navigate some of the systems.
“A lot of people experiencing homelessness don’t have I.D., and so you can’t get additional provincial resources without I.D., you can’t get hotel rooms, you can’t get lots of things without I.D. And so in Edmonton they have a process where you get I.D. immediately.”
Edmonton’s support centre opened its doors on Jan. 17 as part of the measures to address the city’s homelessness crisis.
The centre is located at Hope Mission’s Karis Centre, and Tim Pasma with the Hope Mission explained Service Alberta is on site to provide identification, birth certificates and Alberta health care numbers.
Staff from mental health and addictions are also helping people access things like opioid dependency programs. Also on site is access to income supports such as AISH and Alberta Works applications, and housing agencies.
The facility is set up with a reception area, food, coffee and clothing and even space to charge phones, store belongings and help care for pets.
“We want this to be low barrier so anybody can access it. We want people to feel comfortable when they come in and have basic needs met,” Pasma said.
The government of Alberta said over 380 people accessed the centre between Jan. 17 and Feb. 23, with more than 1,200 referrals and direct connections to services made in that time.
Many Saskatoon community members showed up at city council Wednesday to express their frustration that more public washroom access hadn’t been addressed until this point.
“The city cannot claim to be innovative and forward while we are debating public washrooms,” said Kayla DeMong with Prairie Harm Reduction, who also noted that an interim solution could not be brought forward without considering something longer term.
“It is your responsibility to ensure that life is good for everybody,” DeMong said. “Not just the people who vote, not just the people who can pay taxes, but everybody who lives here.”
Gordon Taylor from Salvation Army Residential Services said a long-term solution isn’t more washrooms, but rather more shelters.
He also told council his experience operating the St. Mary’s warming centre and other public washrooms hasn’t been smooth, warning of the extreme costs and time spent on plumbing and washroom repairs.
The city committed to having administration report back on 2025 budget deliberations with proposed ongoing investment for washrooms in the Pleasant Hill and Riversdale area that would be operable 365 days a year.
Global News reached out to the Ministry of Social Services to see if the Saskatchewan Government would help support a centre.
— With files from Emily Mertz, Jennifer Ivanov, Karen Bartko and Brooke Kruger