City scrambling as wellness centre bans problem clients: councillor

A Saskatoon city councillor has concerns after a decision by a local shelter to ban its most troublesome clients.

David Kirton, councillor for Ward 3 in Saskatoon, said he’s troubled about what will come next after Mark Arcand, the man behind Saskatoon’s 106-bed Emergency Wellness Centre, announced that the centre is ramping up enforcement when it comes to people abusing drugs and breaking rules inside the Fairhaven facility.

Arcand said that could include long-term bans for the wellness centre’s most problematic clients.

“I’m concerned for the whole community, and not just for a neighbourhood,” Kirton said.

Kirton said stakeholders on all sides of the equation must come together and figure out a plan, as time is quickly running out.

“We need to get together. We need the departments within the city to get together with the various ministries of the provincial government and the agencies who work with those unhoused (people),” he explained.

“We need to sit together for I don’t know, two days, and really hammer out what would be a reasonable plan.”

Kirton said the justice system needs to be part of those conversations.

“I’m not just talking about the ministries of social services and health from the provincial government – I’m also talking about corrections and justice; they need to be at that table as well because they have to be part of that plan,” Kirton said.

The councillor said he’s tried to get the stakeholders together to address the issues around homelessness and addictions without much success, “but the time frame is not on our side anymore.”

Kirton speculated that there might be an announcement from the provincial government in coming weeks regarding the situation faced by Saskatoon and other cities across the province.

“Maybe some new facilities? We’ve been asking the provincial government to fund facilities for people with complex needs, and that still hasn’t happened,” Kirton said.

Kirton said that last year, there were about 100 people in the city with complex needs, a term which typically refers to those who are habitually abusing drugs and can’t or won’t get the help they need. He said he believes that number has grown significantly.

“I would suggest that the number could’ve easily doubled by now,” Kirton said. “There are so many people who are homeless who are moving into the city because this is where the services are.”

The councillor said he wants to see more work done to help those people, rather than watch them struggle, often while disrupting the community at the same time.

He reiterated that everyone involved needs to come up with a plan.