Opposition pushing for 24-hour access to shelters as P.E.I. housing crisis drags on

There were questions in the P.E.I. legislature Thursday about the need for people who don't have housing to have 24-hour access to shelters across the Island.

The topic was raised after a Liberal motion on the issue was defeated earlier in the week.

Currently, Charlottetown has the Park Street Emergency Shelter, which is run by the province and operates seven days a week from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. People staying there must leave for the day, returning each night. 

In Summerside, a 10-bed emergency shelter at 25 Frank Mellish Dr. opened six months ago. The provincially operated facility is open seven days a week, from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Opposition MLA Gord McNeilly asked about the level of government support for vulnerable Islanders, and the impact of limited shelter hours on them.

"How do you expect someone to rebuild their life, find a job, attend appointments, manage their help when they're forced to carry every possession they have on their back and wander the streets for hours until beds open up again the next night?" McNeilly said in the legislature Thursday.

In response, Barb Ramsay, P.E.I.'s minister of social development and seniors, noted that the Community Outreach Centre, adjacent to the Park Street shelter, is open during daytime and can offer support for people leaving the shelter during non-operating hours.

"We can always do better, but I'm very pleased with where we are. We're going to continue to work towards making the most vulnerable Islanders as comfortable as we can," she said.

Meanwhile in Summerside, Ramsay pointed out that there are two shelters in the city that are already open around the clock: the LifeHouse Transitional Housing and Emergency Shelter for women and the men's shelter on Winter Street.

The overnight shelter on Frank Mellish Drive began operations last year.

"We just opened the emergency shelter six months ago. We're getting there, but it takes a little bit of time and a lot of money. So it's hard to have it both ways, but we're doing the best we can and we're going to continue to do that," Ramsay said.

'We have a plan'

In a further response to McNeilly, Premier Rob Lantz mentioned the province's housing-first approach to support people dealing with homelessness, focusing on transitional housing and supportive housing.

It's part of the five-year plan the government announced last year to increase the housing supply in response to the ongoing accommodations crisis on P.E.I. Rents have increased sharply over the past several years and the vacancy rate remains below 1 per cent.

"We have a plan to move forward to improve those services. The minister himself has talked about his housing-first model," Lantz said, referring to Housing Minister Steven Myers.

"He is at this moment doing research on how to unroll that program and provide further services for the unhoused in Prince Edward Island."

McNeilly then pointed to the 2024 Point in Time count conducted by the John Howard Society on P.E.I. showing the number of homeless people on the Island appears to have more than doubled in three years.

"This is a disaster," the MLA said. "Housing First is six to seven years away at best. What are you following for people who need shelter tonight?"

In response, Lantz said: "We do have a task force of community members and partners from all across the province, who meet on a monthly basis, who are devising a plan for moving forward to responding to the needs of Islanders with complex needs."

"We'll continue to invest, but emergency services are just that; they are for emergency services. We have a long-term plan to house people in appropriate housing, so that they can move on with their lives with dignity."