Brody Langager, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Despite questions and concerns raised by members of the local community, a women’s warming centre is now open in Saskatoon in the Riversdale neighbourhood.
The centre, established at 325 Avenue C South, is inside a renovated former restaurant directly beside the Salvation Army’s Crossroads Residential Services shelter. It was bought by the city, and is currently operated by Saskatoon Tribal Council.
A temporary warming centre has been running at the former Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) bus terminal on 23rd Street.
During last week’s city council meeting, a report on the lease for the building offered the opportunity for the Riversdale Business Improvement District to weigh in on the project and raise what it sees as a number of red flags.
“It is this lack of transparency, lack of accountability, lack of communication to the business community of Riversdale that ignited my need to reach out,” said Ephthymia Kutsogiannis, the newly appointed chairperson for the BID.
Kutsogiannis, who owns a dental office in Riversdale that she has operated for 34 years, said the purchasing of the warming centre came as a surprise to the BID. She said there weren’t any conversations with BID members about it.
She noted the Salvation Army agreed that the location for the women’s warming centre was a bad idea.
If this had happened in any other community in Saskatoon, residents would be up in arms, she said, adding that Riversdale needs to be treated with respect.
Kutsogiannis said warming centres and drop-in centres only tackle the symptoms of homelessness and that the root of the problem needs to be addressed.
“(Riversdale BID) acknowledges the need for housing, they support housing initiatives. However, they do not support these initiatives to be continuously occurring in the Riversdale business area.”
She said companies are losing money in the area due to security issues and that long-standing businesses are leaving Riversdale.
It was noted by the city that it does not control where agencies set up shop.
Coun. Senos Timon wondered what Kutsogiannis would like to see happen instead. She said the city needs to stop treating homelessness like just a westside problem, noting that some people who need services don’t want to go to Riversdale.
“We seem to be just reactive, we need to be proactive,” Kutsogiannis said, adding that more policing was needed.
Pamela Goulden-MacLeod, the city’s director of emergency management, said safety planning was in progress, and would be coming into effect when the warming centre opened.
Goulden-MacLeod said the safety plan ranges from 20th Street to Avenue B and Avenue D, then down to Sonnenschein Way.
She said the initial response will be intense as a means of setting the facility up for success.
“There will be weekly meetings so we can review this plan and update it as required,” Goulden-MacLeod said.
She said the city has spoken with 10 different businesses to discuss what they are looking for.
Coun. Robert Pearce said the BID clearly doesn’t feel as engaged with as it would like.
He said what he heard from the BID, as well as residents in his area, is a level of anger that is growing.
“People are tired of seeing this situation occur … decentralizing homelessness is the answer,” Pearce said.
He said there are homeless people on the eastside of the city and there is nothing for them.
