Folks who had found temporary shelter at the emergency response centre in New West have now moved on to new, temporary homes.
In May, a 40-bed emergency response centre opened in the Massey gymnasium at New Westminster Secondary School. It closed July 11, after the school district declined a request to extend its lease.
City staff have considered a number of alternate locations for the emergency response centre, including city-owned sites (Centennial Community Centre, Queen’s Park Arena, Moody Park Arena, Royal City Curling Club) and private facilities (the former Army and Navy Department Store, the former Corporate Inn, a vacant warehouse on Stewardson Way, the Sapperton Pensioners Hall and the former Toyota dealership on 12th Street).
At its final meeting before its summer break, city council supported a process related to the potential relocation of the emergency response centre to the Corporate Inn site at 379 12th St., provided BC Housing is able to negotiate a lease arrangement with the building’s owner. Council also directed staff to undertake a temporary-use permit for that site, in accordance with the city’s interim development review policy.
BC Housing told the Record it’s not currently in negotiations to establish an emergency response centre at the Corporate Inn site.
“All 17 guests who were staying at the now-closed New Westminster Secondary School ERC have been relocated to temporary accommodations in the community operated by the Lookout Housing Society,” BC Housing said in a July 21 statement to the Record. “We know others in the community still need support, and that is why the province, through BC Housing and partners like the City of New Westminster, are continuing to look at a number of ways to bring people inside.”
According to the city report, the emergency response centre at the Massey complex was equipped to accommodate 40 people, but averaged about 20 men and five women. In addition to providing people with three meals a day, sleeping accommodations and free Wi-Fi, it provided on-site overdose prevention services and an on-site primary care clinic, as well as access to virtual health and referrals to community-based services.
The city’s task force on at-risk and vulnerable populations, one of several task forces launched by the city in response to COVID-19, has raised concerns about the ability of meet the shelter needs of the increasing number of people who are homeless.
“Task force members have reported that existing shelters have had to limit their numbers to facilitate physical distancing, which has resulted in reduced capacity,” said the report to council. “Task force members have expressed concerns about the increasing numbers of encampments, which, given cramped quarters, inadequate ventilation and poor sanitation, could facilitate the spread of the COVID-19 virus to this highly vulnerable population and to the larger community.”
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr said he was disappointed the lease at the Massey complex couldn’t be extended.
“We really need to show compassion. People say ‘we are all in this together,’ but we are not. Marginalized people aren’t on the same level of dealing with this pandemic as we are,” he said. “It saddens me when I see NIMBYism on something like this. … These are the people that are most impacted by COVID. These are the people who, if they get this disease, they will probably perish.”
Puchmayrsaid he was “disheartened” to see some “completely unfounded” information circulated about incidents at the ERC at the high school site.
“We’ve got some tough times coming ahead,” he said. “This isn’t going away anytime soon, and these people really need our support.”
In a statement to the Record, BC Housing said temporary accommodations are not a long-term solution to homelessness, which is why it’s working to build new supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness.
“Through our 10-year housing plan, Homes for B.C., we have opened more than 2,600 new supportive homes across the province in just over two years,” said the statement. “A further 1,200 are currently underway around the province, including 44 in New Westminster, towards our target of building 4,900 new supportive homes over 10 years.”
