Kiwanis Performing Arts Centre Executive Director Johanna Martens has written a letter to South Peace MLA Mike Bernier, outlining safety concerns over ‘My Home Place’ supportive housing across the street from their Dawson Creek daycare.
According to Martens, staff and children at the daycare have witnessed open drug use by the housing residents, with individuals passing out in the street and getting into frequent altercations.
The situation has escalated to the point where emergency services are on site three to four times a week, including police, ambulance, and the fire department.
“This not only adversely impacts our business but, more importantly, it affects the well-being of the children we serve,” wrote Martens, advocating for the housing to become a dry site, with no substances allowed.
“We believe that this form of housing should not be subject to the BC Residential Tenancy Act, as its current application impedes the RCMP from promptly addressing individuals intoxicated on the property,” she added.
Daycare staff have begun regular sweeps of their play yard to search for drug paraphernalia, remove garbage scattered from a nearby dumpster, moving individuals away from their fence, and restricting building access. Additional private fencing, extra locks, and security checks were added to try and mitigate the safety issue.
Parents have also begun withdrawing their kids from the daycare out of fear of their children being exposed to the ongoing incidents and the security of the arts centre, noted Martens, with two to three families a month leaving.
“We maintain a strong conviction that the BC Housing project, My Home Place, should not have been situated in such close proximity to our daycare, where our most vulnerable population is intended to flourish,” Martens writes.
