Commonwealth Stadium opens as temporary homeless shelter for winter amid COVID-19
Dustin Cook EDMONTON JOURNAL
Dustin Cook EDMONTON JOURNAL
© Provided by Edmonton Journal Commonwealth Stadium is seen in Edmonton, on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. The inside concession area of the stadium is being used as an overnight shelter operated by Hope Mission.
An enclosed concession area in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium has opened as a temporary homeless shelter for residents sleeping rough this winter.
The site, which opened on Friday, has overnight capacity for 120 people with two metres between sleeping spaces to follow COVID-19 guidelines. The shelter is operated by Hope Mission and replaces its other temporary shelter at the Central Lions Recreation Centre, which closed last Thursday after operating since early April.
Hope Mission executive director Bruce Reith said the stadium can accommodate about 40 more people than the previous site, which is essential as the weather turns colder. Right now, the space is operating as an overnight shelter with residents required to leave around 8 a.m., but Reith said they are working with the city to offer 24-7 services and also provide daily meals onsite. The shelter is scheduled to be open until at least March, with operational funding coming from the provincial government.
“We’re concerned about winter obviously and that’s why I’m excited about Commonwealth,” Reith said in an interview with Postmedia Wednesday. “My concern is feeding people so that they can come in, distance the two metres, have a nice hot meal and also be inside somewhere warm to have that.”
Planned services also include social supports, housing information and day sleeping accommodations. A date hasn’t been confirmed for the transition to a 24-7 shelter, but the city said services will increase over the next few days as more staff are brought in.
Area Coun. Scott McKeen said he is hopeful the shift to a 24-7 shelter comes as soon as possible, voicing concerns about residents being kicked out early and left outside in the surrounding McCauley community, which he said is a frequent occurrence at the Hope Mission emergency shelter a few blocks west.
“It’s city space and they must operate 24-7 or we’ll run into the same problem again and that is people being evicted in the early morning into McCauley,” McKeen said. “I credit Hope Mission for the work they do, but I think they have to modernize their practices and it’s frustrating to me that we’ve struggled to get them to do that.”
In responding to McKeen’s comments, Reith said it is necessary to clear the emergency shelter early in the morning in order to transition the space for meal service.
Details about the Commonwealth Stadium shelter already being open for five nights caught McKeen off guard during a council committee meeting Wednesday morning. He said he wasn’t consulted or given any notice to inform the community.
“I can’t tell you how dismayed I am to hear that. That this comes to me as a surprise,” McKeen said in response to the update from city officials. “I am absolutely blown away that this would happen on my watch without some heads up and some meeting with me about this.”
Even though the shelter opened Friday, city spokeswoman Nicole Thomas told Postmedia in an email Monday afternoon that there were “no confirmed updates” about the use of Commonwealth Stadium as a shelter. On Wednesday, Thomas said the city was waiting to confirm operational details before making an official announcement to avoid confusion about locations and services available.
Two other temporary winter shelters are set to open their doors within the next few days. A 24-7 program at the Edmonton Convention Centre with overnight capacity of 300 people will open Friday evening and be operational until the end of March.
On the south side of the river, The Mustard Seed has received a development permit from the city to operate a temporary shelter out of an empty warehouse near 99 Street and 75 Avenue. The site, owned by Cessco Fabrication and Engineering Ltd., will open as a 24-7 shelter Monday and provide shelter space for up to 120 people until mid-May.
There are currently about 2,000 people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton and 600 people sleeping outside nightly.
duscook@postmedia.com
An enclosed concession area in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium has opened as a temporary homeless shelter for residents sleeping rough this winter.
The site, which opened on Friday, has overnight capacity for 120 people with two metres between sleeping spaces to follow COVID-19 guidelines. The shelter is operated by Hope Mission and replaces its other temporary shelter at the Central Lions Recreation Centre, which closed last Thursday after operating since early April.
Hope Mission executive director Bruce Reith said the stadium can accommodate about 40 more people than the previous site, which is essential as the weather turns colder. Right now, the space is operating as an overnight shelter with residents required to leave around 8 a.m., but Reith said they are working with the city to offer 24-7 services and also provide daily meals onsite. The shelter is scheduled to be open until at least March, with operational funding coming from the provincial government.
“We’re concerned about winter obviously and that’s why I’m excited about Commonwealth,” Reith said in an interview with Postmedia Wednesday. “My concern is feeding people so that they can come in, distance the two metres, have a nice hot meal and also be inside somewhere warm to have that.”
Planned services also include social supports, housing information and day sleeping accommodations. A date hasn’t been confirmed for the transition to a 24-7 shelter, but the city said services will increase over the next few days as more staff are brought in.
Area Coun. Scott McKeen said he is hopeful the shift to a 24-7 shelter comes as soon as possible, voicing concerns about residents being kicked out early and left outside in the surrounding McCauley community, which he said is a frequent occurrence at the Hope Mission emergency shelter a few blocks west.
“It’s city space and they must operate 24-7 or we’ll run into the same problem again and that is people being evicted in the early morning into McCauley,” McKeen said. “I credit Hope Mission for the work they do, but I think they have to modernize their practices and it’s frustrating to me that we’ve struggled to get them to do that.”
In responding to McKeen’s comments, Reith said it is necessary to clear the emergency shelter early in the morning in order to transition the space for meal service.
Details about the Commonwealth Stadium shelter already being open for five nights caught McKeen off guard during a council committee meeting Wednesday morning. He said he wasn’t consulted or given any notice to inform the community.
“I can’t tell you how dismayed I am to hear that. That this comes to me as a surprise,” McKeen said in response to the update from city officials. “I am absolutely blown away that this would happen on my watch without some heads up and some meeting with me about this.”
Even though the shelter opened Friday, city spokeswoman Nicole Thomas told Postmedia in an email Monday afternoon that there were “no confirmed updates” about the use of Commonwealth Stadium as a shelter. On Wednesday, Thomas said the city was waiting to confirm operational details before making an official announcement to avoid confusion about locations and services available.
Two other temporary winter shelters are set to open their doors within the next few days. A 24-7 program at the Edmonton Convention Centre with overnight capacity of 300 people will open Friday evening and be operational until the end of March.
On the south side of the river, The Mustard Seed has received a development permit from the city to operate a temporary shelter out of an empty warehouse near 99 Street and 75 Avenue. The site, owned by Cessco Fabrication and Engineering Ltd., will open as a 24-7 shelter Monday and provide shelter space for up to 120 people until mid-May.
There are currently about 2,000 people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton and 600 people sleeping outside nightly.
duscook@postmedia.com
No comments:
Post a Comment