Kingston shelter says lack of space isn’t a problem

Kingston has a number of homeless shelters, but for some that’s not always an option. Homeless people sleeping for a few hours at night inside the lobbies of banks and residential complexes has slowly become a problem along the Princess Street corridor.

“Are they intoxicated by a drug or alcohol? Therefore, they won’t accept them,” Kingston Police Constable Steve Koopman said. “And sometimes they simply have burned bridges in the past, where they’re either not allowed forever or sometimes for an interim period of time.”

But how does one get to that point? Colleen McAllister, program manager for Kingston’s Homebase Housing, believes it’s a lack of a support system for those individuals.

She adds that a lack of space within the City’s shelters is definitely not the problem. As recently as last week, the “in from the cold” shelter had 21 of its 29 spaces available for use.

According to McAllister, that’s due in large part to a collaboration between “Housing First” and prevention and diversion teams.

“They’re out checking where there’s known or been reports of homeless people,” McAllister said. “They’re out there trying to encourage them to try and come back in to seek shelter or reconnect with their mental health team.”

But still, there are some who chose to spend their nights in places like a bank ATM lobby, and Kingston Police say in these circumstances, they don’t like to charge someone. But that can change.

“Normally a charge is not the first preference,” Constable Koopman said. “But at the same time if it is an ongoing issue, or if we simply feel like they’re a danger to themselves or others, then we can bring them in on something like a breach of the peace.”