Saskatoon shelter to evict residents with 'complex needs,' will focus on families
Advocates say more funding needed to help those with addictions and mental health issues
Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand says drug use and rule-breaking are problems at the Emergency Wellness Centre (EWC) and now 30 people with "complex needs" will be evicted from the facility.
Complex needs is a term used to describe those who have serious drug addictions or mental health issues.
He said those with complex needs are "using drugs steady" on the EWC's property and it's becoming problematic.
"We have kids there, we have families there and it's really causing a disruption for the wellness part," said Arcand.
As of right now, the facility houses 106 people.
Arcand said residents have been warned that Oct. 1 is the deadline for when the centre's zero tolerance policy will take effect in regards to drug use and violence.
If drug users can't "kick their habit" then STC said it won't serve them and they'll be removed. The STC said Saskatoon police will help assist if people aren't compliant with leaving.
According to Arcand, the EWC doesn't have the funding to deal with people suffering from addictions.
He said the province and city need to come together and look for a new facility specifically for people with complex needs.
"They're putting a needle in their arm or they're using crystal meth and that's the issue, they're not there to get healthy," said Arcand.
"We've got to find a different mechanism to support those individuals."
If there is a new facility created for people with complex needs, Arcand said it shouldn't be on the west side of the city.
Kayla DeMong, executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction in Saskatoon, said community service organizations must support everyone, not just those who are easy to serve.
DeMong said the drug crisis is the worst she has ever seen in the city, and that necessary supports aren't available for those with serious addictions and mental health issues.
"We're about to head into winter, people are going to die sleeping out in the cold. This is no longer a moral issue. This is a human rights issue. And we have stopped treating these people as humans," DeMong said.
She said Prairie Harm Reduction has been asking the province for resources for years to support its safe consumption site, but has received none and has to rely on small grants and donations from the community.
"It tells them, for the thousandth time in their life, that they don't matter," DeMong said.
DeMong wants more funding, and for community organizations to pool resources and create centralized facilities for people with substance use disorders.
Rebecca Rackow, director of advocacy, research and public policy development at the Canadian Mental Health Association in Saskatchewan, said there has been a push for people to get mandatory help with addictions, even if they are not ready for it.
She said putting people in that position has an extremely low success rate.
"Harm reduction models do have some success, a lot higher success than mandatory drug treatment."
She said there are many people who don't fit into the current health system and that often, when they ask for help, they are sent away back to the streets.
"We need to find a way that we can actually put together something that can meet the needs of those folks," Rackow said.
She said that when organizations like STC make abrupt decisions like evicting people and having a no tolerance policy, it can reinforce to those people that they don't belong anywhere and reinforce addiction.
Rackow said she understands that the STC had to make a difficult but essential decision, because the program is designed for a certain group of people and it doesn't fit those with complex needs. She also said that somebody with the right resources and expertise still needs to help these people.
Saskatoon Police Service Supt. Darren Pringle said it's expected the changes will increase police workload.
"The challenge for us has always been where do people go, and if we've got more of these folks out in the community, safety [is] our primary concern," said Pringle.
"Safety for the community, safety for them, because we have a duty of care to everyone."
Pringle said police can help, but they are not the entire solution.
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With files from Aishwarya Dudha