Saskatoon pastor calls for closure of Fairhaven shelter after scary incident

A Saskatoon pastor is raising concerns with an emergency shelter in Fairhaven after a scary incident on the doorstep of his church.

Robert Pearce is the pastor at Fairmont Baptist Church, which is located just two blocks from the Saskatoon Tribal Council’s emergency wellness shelter on Fairmont Drive.

Pearce said he’s speaking out after a person tried to attack him at the church.

“After a very harrowing experience the other night at our church where someone attempted to jump me and force their way into our church as I was leaving, and seeing how our situation continues to worsen, I’ve written an open letter to the Premier and the ministers involved in the operation and funding of the failed shelter in our community to demand it be defunded and closed until better solutions are created, to which I have made suggestions,” Pearce wrote in a social media post.

“It’s time for this expensive, colossal failure that endangers thousands of people in our community to end!”

In his letter, Pearce noted that he lives and works about 200 metres from the shelter, and he initially had high hopes for the facility.

After a very harrowing experience the other night at our church where someone attempted to jump me and force their way into our church as I was leaving, and seeing how our situation continues to worsen, I've written an open letter to the Premier and the ministers involved in the… pic.twitter.com/ocYISQjWqk

— RevRobYXE (@RevRobYXE) February 15, 2024

“As a Pastor, it is painful for me to write what must be said because it was my hope that this shelter could be the start of something that could be replicated as a real solution. Unfortunately, we all know such is not the case,” Pearce wrote in his open letter, which was addressed to Premier Scott Moe, Health Minister Everett Hindley, Social Services Minister Gene Makowsky and Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman.

Pearce, who is planning to run for a city council seat in Ward 3 in this fall’s election, said promises were made about the shelter — including on-site paramedics and wrap-around services to help its clients — which were never delivered.

The pastor said the provincial government appears to have addressed some concerns in its plans for two new 30-bed shelters in the city, but said those changes need to be implemented in Fairhaven “where these painful lessons were learned at great expense to the taxpayers, and on many levels personally to our community!”

Pearce is far from the first to raise safety concerns in the neighbourhood since the opening of the shelter in December of 2022. Public rallies have been held by community members calling for more to be done to address issues around crime, drugs and vandalism in the area. Pearce himself previously spoke to 650 CKOM, outlining some of the concerns.

In his letter, Pearce calls for the province to adopt a number of measures, including limiting shelters to fewer than 30 residents, managing shelter beds centrally through Social Services, and only approving shelter locations outside of residential areas.

According to Pearce, the value of the average property in the area has dropped by $30,000 since the shelter opened.

“Where else in this province have individuals been forced by the government to incur such huge personal losses in finding a solution for the homeless?” the pastor asked.

Ultimately, Pearce said the shelter should be closed sooner rather than later.

“So as much as it breaks my heart to write this, the good faith and trust of the community in the government is gone, and the majority in the community see no other recourse than to demand this shelter be closed before the summer,” he wrote.

“Now is the time to plan for the closure of the Fairhaven shelter by the end of April, and develop real solutions that are the right investment into people and their needs before next winter!

“To do anything less is just compounding negligence!”

650 CKOM has reached out to the provincial government for a response. The Saskatoon Tribal Council, which manages the shelter, is expected to respond to the letter at a news conference on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, plans for a new 30-bed shelter in Saskatoon’s Sutherland neighbourhood are coming under criticism from local residents and at least one council member. An online petition calling for a different location to be chosen has already gathered more than 1,600 signatures.