Uko Akpanuko
Daily Herald
The City of Prince Albert has announced the dates and locations for four public consultation meetings to decide on a new location for a permanent enhanced emergency homeless shelter.
The first is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 15 at the Ches Leach Lounge, followed by Monday, Jan. 20 at the Midtown Community Club, Tuesday, Jan. 21 at the Alfred Jenkins Field House, and Thursday, Jan. 30 at the PAGC Urban Services building. All meetings start at 5:30 p.m.
In a press release, Mayor Bill Powalinsky encouraged residents and interested stakeholders to attend one of the four upcoming workshops to share information and gather feedback from across the community that will inform the City’s decision.
“It is clear that finding a location for a permanent shelter location is a priority for our community,” said Powalinsky. “We need broad consultation to ensure we are hearing all points of view before we make a final decision. With good information, we can ensure we have a good plan to support the shelter once a final location is determined. I encourage all residents to consider taking part in this opportunity.”
City of Prince Albert Community Safety and Well-Being Manager Anna Dinsdale said the four meeting locations will ensure all residents can attend a meeting in their area.
“We felt that was is important to try to make sure that the sessions were as accessible to the people as possible across the community,” Dinsdale said. “We were broadly aiming for the four quadrants of the city. We know that we also needed location that were big enough if we have large turnouts. The one location (where) I’m not sure it’s going to be big enough is the Alfred Jenkins Field House, but we’ll get a good idea from the first two sessions about how many people are turning up.”
The workshops will include presentations from City of Prince Albert and YWCA representatives as well as a panel of community stakeholders who can answer questions. There will also be roundtables to collect feedback from participants.
“The sessions will be divided into a kind of presentation session that (will) provide some context to the broader kind of work that’s being done around homelessness in the housing continuum across the City. That’s just a very brief kind of overview and the reason for that is because that helps people to focus their attention specifically on the emergency shelter,” Dinsdale explained. “This isn’t a consultation on homelessness. This is a consultation on finding a location for the shelter itself, and that is just one small part of the bigger piece of work that we’re undertaking.”
She added that there will be round table discussions where residents can talk about issues openly and the sessions will be recorded so a transcript will be available.
The event will feature a speaker who used to be homeless, but has since transitioned into housing. There will also be a discussion about the safety plan for any new shelter, followed by a
question and answer session with representatives from fire, bylaw, and other members of the community that will support the shelter wherever it ends up. Dinsdale said residents who don’t feel comfortable speaking publicly can make a note of any questions or concerns and hand that in at the end of the meeting.
The format will be the same for each meeting.
Dinsdale will be one of several city officials present for each meeting. Planning Director Craig Guidinger will also be in attendance, as will bylaw officers, fire department representatives, and a few elected officials.
Dinsdale added that it’s difficult to pin down what a timeline will look like for a new emergency shelter once these consultation sessions are complete. At the Dec. 16 council meeting, Powalinsky said he wanted the City to find a new location by the end of March.
Dinsdale said she’s not sure if its’ possible to hit that deadline, but the consultations are an important step towards moving the project forward.
An Enhanced Emergency Shelter is a 24-hour shelter for people experiencing homelessness. It provides a safe space where they can have their basic needs met, such as food, shelter, and hygiene. It is also a place where they can receive support with mental health, addictions, and access positive activities such as life-skills programming. The goal of the shelter is to support individuals to find dignity, self-esteem, and help to find long term housing.
For those who are unable to attend but would like to provide input, the City will prepare an online survey that will be made available to such persons.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
