After months of debate, a potential temporary emergency shelter location has been selected for downtown Saskatoon.
The shelter at 210 Pacific Ave. will have space for 30 to 40 beds. The site will need to be approved by city council. If voted in favour, the aim is to open sometime this winter.
“The city centre is a fairly obvious choice for lots of services and if you go to just about any city in North America, you will find an emergency shelter in the downtown,” Saskatoon Ward 2 councillor Hilary Gough said.
The site was formerly operated by the Saskatchewan Transportation Company and is now owned by the city.
“With some renovation, it will be suitable for a shelter and meet most of the City Council-approved criteria,” the City of Saskatoon said in a release. Those criteria include:
- Room for approximately 30 beds each
- Beds in an open shelter-type hall (with movable wall systems or partitions)
- Some private rooms (accessed internally)
- An area suitable for office space for site staff
- Showers, bathrooms, kitchen
- Internal and external gathering spaces available on site would be considered
- Proximity to other services should be considered
- Zoned appropriately if possible, or applicable for designation under the City’s Emergency Residential Shelter zoning provision
- At least 250 metres from an elementary school in the Saskatoon Public School or Greater Saskatoon Catholic School system.
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The government of Saskatchewan will invest up to $250,000 for renovations. The shelter will be run by The Mustard Seed.
“We’re providing what you’d expect,” Mustard Seed CEO James Gardiner said. “It’s a 24-hour, 7-day a week, 365 site for the 18 months it’s being proposed. It’s basic shelter services as well as three meals a day for the folks.”
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Information sessions will be held on the 16th and more details will be included in a report to council on the 25th.
Global News spoke to several businesses and residents in the area who are concerned about safety and property values.
Gough said there is no easy answer for a shelter, and even with a commitment from the province to fund new spaces, it’s still not enough.
“Last winter we had a warming facility open that had peak numbers well over 100 people in one night,” Gough said. “Opening 30 to 40 new shelter beds is critical.”
The shelter will be temporary, but the city said it will continue to search for a long-term solution.
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