Dozens rally for more funding, safety measures in Fairhaven, Confederation

Dozens of people, many from the Fairhaven and Confederation Park neighbourhoods, rallied Wednesday afternoon for more safety measures and funding to address concerns stemming from the homeless shelter in the area.

The peaceful rally was held along Idylwyld Drive, near downtown Saskatoon.

To a steady stream of supporting honks from drivers, rally participants on four separate street corners held up signs reading “Stop bandaid solutions,” “The issue is addiction,” and “Standing up for safety.”

Rally organizer Darla Brown said her neighbourhood has become unsafe since the Wellness Centre, run by the Saskatoon Tribal Council, was opened nine months ago.

“That’s creating a havoc for our community, but, on the other hand, there are these people that really need some help and there’s no resources for them to be able to get long-term help for their addictions and their mental health,” she said.

Over the past year, Brown said she regularly sees people openly injecting drugs and overdosing in the community.

“Nobody’s children need to see that,” she said. “Nobody in the city needs to see that. We can’t normalize the use of drugs in our city. We just can’t.”

Brown said people are worried about their children’s safety while walking to school, their property being stolen, and even violence. She said the City of Saskatoon and provincial government have both neglected her community.

“Our governments are not doing their job to look after these people that need help,” Brown said. “I want the city to also know that the City of Saskatoon council has paved the way for shelters to be put into other neighbourhoods, and there could be one coming to you.”

Janine, a Fairhaven resident who didn’t want to share her last name, said she’s lived in the area for nearly 45 years. She said she used to bike and walk everywhere, but stopped doing so over the last several months because of the changes to the neighbourhood.

“I’ve had things thrown at me. I’ve had people cursing at me. I’ve witnessed drug deals and drug use. This is not right. We have three elementary schools close by. We have parks that are being littered with needles,” she said.

“People live in fear now.”

The 106-bed Wellness Centre opened in December of 2022. In February, Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said big shelters, like the one in Fairhaven, are not long-term solutions.

“The wellness centre, right now, is meeting a big demand, and even when you talk to tribal chiefs and staff there they say it would be better to have not one big centre, but smaller centres,” the mayor said.

Clark said he’s very aware of the concerns coming from that neighbourhood.

Saskatoon police have asked residents to call then when they have concerns, or if they see crime-related issues.

At its last meeting, Saskatoon’s Board of Police Commissioners requested more provincial funding to help with issues around homelessness and addictions.

Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand said he supports that request.

“We have a lot of complex-needs issues that we’re dealing with, and we’re having a hard time dealing with. I think that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later,” Arcand said.