Problems Caused by the Unhoused? House Them!
It takes a village
Medicine Hat once boasted that we solved the problem of homelessness but it was a mere bandaid that did not withstand the test of time. Duncan BC on Vancouver Island created The Village to address the need for transitional housing, a step in between the shelter and permanent housing.
The City of Medicine Hat can learn a lot from this.
Imagine you are one of the Unhoused
Maybe you had to stop working because of a serious illness.
Maybe you have a mental illness and/or a substance use issue.
Maybe you lost your job and could not afford the rent anymore.
Because you have no place to call home, you are wandering around all day (often all night) in an effort just to survive. You keep getting moved along by police. Meals are few and far between; they often lack nutrition. You carry everything that you own with you. You can’t get a job because you have no way to keep your meager possessions secure. You don’t use the homeless shelter for a number of reasons - lack of personal safety, lack of secure storage for what meager possessions you have, no pets allowed, etc. Your health suffers from being unhoused - when you get sick you do not have the luxury of being able to stay in bed all day with access to a working a toilet.
You don’t feel welcome anywhere. Housed People won’t even look you in the eye for fear that you’ll ask them for money; you feel invisible. Often the only people you communicate with are police, social service workers and your own cohorts. You band together and try to take care of each other, gathering to help when someone is “down”.
You have a cell phone but no place to charge it even if it does not get stolen while you sleep, your phone is your lifeline as there are no more pay phones. You have no transportation, you walk unless you are lucky enough to have a bus pass or a bicycle (which may get stolen when you are not looking).
All of your focus is on trying to stay alive, you live in the present and don’t have the energy to think of the future. Often the only escape from your misery is using substances - illegal or otherwise - which comes at a high risk. A risk of being assaulted, a risk of your possessions being stolen, a risk of death - you do it anyway because you do not have the tools to cope. A supervised consumption site would help keep you alive but the Province of Alberta in their infinite wisdom has deemed them to be bad.
You might decide to go to rehab but the wait is weeks, if not months just for detox with no guarantee that you will have a treatment bed after detox. People are more likely to die after detox without immediate access to treatment because you have no tools to cope with your trauma which caused you to turn to substances in the first place. When you use again, your tolerance is greatly reduced - the dose that merely got you high before will likely kill you now. Access to mental health support is months down the road.
Meanwhile, you try to stay alive.
The various social service agencies do their best
There are appointments which you may or may not attend because your phone died and you don’t know what time it is - you might not even know what day it is. Maybe you used a substance ahead of your appointment which means even if you do go, you fear that they will send you away until your head is clearer. Because you have no fixed address, it is hard for agencies to find you, it is hard for anyone to send you anything. Your family has a hard time contacting you.
Medicine Hat Community Housing tries to get you into housing but the process is overwhelming. When you get a place all of a sudden there are things you must do - just furnishing a place can seem to be an insurmountable task. You’re expected to know how to shop for groceries and prepare healthy meals for yourself. Once that door shuts to the outside world, all of a sudden there is no community. You don’t see any of the people you got to know and you are not allowed to have visitors. The loneliness is palpable and you return to the streets in search of connection.
The City of Medicine Hat has a Community Resources FB page which says
Community Resource Workers will help you or your family, connect with the community resources that best suit your situation. Sometimes life's events seem overwhelming so finding the right resources can make all the difference to you and your family.
NB - They’ve not made a post in months.
The City of Medicine Hat decides to create a Task Force to address Social Disorder
Managing Director of Public Services, Joseph Hutter, presented proposed terms of reference for a Resilient and Inclusive Community Task Force Team. The increasing incidents of public disturbances, anti-social behaviour, sleeping in public, indecent acts, and visible illegal drug use have raised concerns among local community members. Addressing these issues requires a coordinated and comprehensive approach. The team’s purpose is to develop and implement strategies and actions to bolster community capacity, enhance community safety and promote social cohesion. Following the presentation, City Council approved the terms of reference. Source Feb 3 Council Highlights
The Task Force will comprise of representatives from:
City Council – Mayor
City Council – Public Services Committee Chair
City of Medicine Hat executive member
MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat
MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat
MP for Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner
Medicine Hat Community Housing Society
The Mustard Seed
Miywasin Friendship Centre
Medicine Hat Police Service
Alberta Health Services
Chamber of Commerce
Two (2) public members
Source pg 134 Feb 3 2025 Agenda Packet
There are a lot of prominent people on that list but only a few that have any experience in addressing these issues. The City’s focus seems to be on addressing the social disorder without addressing the causes of the disorder.
The following items were identified as Social disorder to be addressed by the Task Force.
Anti-social behaviour
Public disturbances
Sleeping in public
Public drug use
Indecent acts
(Public urination and defecation was not listed but it has previously been identified as an issue.)
All of these behaviors can be greatly reduced by doing one thing.
Housing people!
What we are doing now is NOT working. The Mustard Seed has lost the trust of the residents of Medicine Hat because of what had been going on at the Allowance avenue site. On Jan 8 2025 the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society in partnership with the Mustard Seed held an event to talk about shelters, housing etc. It was called “On The Record”. At this event I asked the Mustard Seed CEO James Gardiner if the Allowance Avenue location had a Good Neighbour Plan, he said no. I asked why not, he said nobody had asked him to.
That was an astounding response.
Medicine Hat is lacking a critical step in housing people - transitional housing - single room occupancy with wrap around supports.
We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, another community has already figured it out
Last week I was in Duncan BC, a city of about 90k people on Vancouver Island. My 90yo mother had told me about a transitional housing unit called The Village that has been very successful. My mom is not easy to impress so I knew I had to check this out.
Location, Location, Location
The location of The Village is in a medium density residential area next to a highway commercial area. Here are the comments from Dec 13 2021 when the project went before Council for approval. This started as a temporary project during Covid but it has since become a model for transitional housing.
I took these pictures from the sidewalk as there are no visitors permitted. Only residents and registered service providers are allowed on site. The signs say they are not permitted to provide anything to non-residents. My mom and I noticed nobody sleeping on the sidewalks or in the bushes or on the sidewalk, we walked from two blocks away. Yes it was overcast and gloomy but that does not keep people inside in BC.
Duncan residents shared the same concerns as Medicine Hat residents, concerns such as
There is no 'perfect site'
Worry about safety and not enough security
We should not house people without services
Question was posed around statistics and how success is measured
The more housing you provide, the more people will come - it will make it worse
The site is good because it's close to a busy intersection and doesn't leave much room for loitering
Not enough community engagement (one person indicated not having been notified and questioned radius of engagement)
The service is needed, but the location is wrong (too close to youth centre and businesses) Worry about crime and illegal activity
One person even said
I'm not against housing, because it's obvious the need is acute, but if you want to put emergency housing there, make it for unhoused seniors, people kicked out because of renovictions, working unhoused. These compromise 47% of the unhoused according to Cowichan Housing's own estimates. The 30-35% that are unhoused addicts, mentally unstable and victimized, that need more supports need to be outside the community as they get socialized by properly certified staff, and will be welcomed back by the community when they do. If camp residents are protected from the criminals, the criminals (vandals, thieves, robbers) will go off to find easier prey.
Let’s look at that one sentence
The 30-35% that are unhoused addicts, mentally unstable and victimized, that need more supports need to be outside the community as they get socialized by properly certified staff, and will be welcomed back by the community when they do.
In other words, put them in seclusion until they learn to behave properly, they are not welcome in my community. That is cruel and just plain mean.
Duncan’s City Council Defied the Naysayers
Duncan’s Council had the courage to defy the naysayers and allowed the creation of The Village. The Temporary Use Permit (TUP) Renewal includes the application and the observed benefits from this tiny home project. (The Mustard Seed could learn a lot from this.) The Village has been so successful that it has been extended past its trial period until 2027.
The Village is steps away from the Trans Canada Hwy where there are lots of shops and services, including a Mental Health office literally next door. There’s a seniors residence across the street.
This is a 360 degree video I took ( that’s my mom on the sidewalk).
The Village Duncan BC and Neighbourhood
The Village started as quick response temporary project during covid. From pg 115-166 of the Duncan City Council Dec 13 2021 Agenda Packet
The Village project includes
Ø Temporary emergency shelter for up to 40 individuals
Ø 3 fully fenced and enclosed pods of 12-14 individuals for privacy and safety Ø 40 new modular 8’x14’ sleeping units (original sleeping cabins 8’x8’)
Ø 1 staff/security unit 20’x20’
Ø 3 shower and bathroom units 8’x20’
Ø On-site security 8pm to 8am
Ø Support services for 40 weeks:
o 7 days/week outreach and support staff o Sanitation, garbage and clean team
o Overnight security
o 3 meals/day
o Peer outreach, coordination, and incident response
Ø Neighbourhood Support
o Urban Street Cleanup Program and quick response team
o Community Advisory Committee
o Good Neighbour Agreements with program participants
o 24/7 Open Communication Line for feedback and concerns
It Takes a Village project - “The Village” - will provide a transitional housing solution to improve the regional capacity to serve the unsheltered population currently residing in the region from January 15, 2021 to September 15, 2022. In keeping with the successful model at St Julien St. and the Mound site, additional temporary emergency sleeping cabins would be placed on the proposed site. We propose to add 40 units of temporary accommodation (sleeping units), additional staff and associated incremental services. We propose to develop and implement peer-based programs to address community concerns related to public health and safety arising from the presence of unhoused individuals informally residing in the central business district and residential neighbourhoods of the CVRD.
Housing, Support Services, and Amenities
The purpose of the project is to provide temporary housing in the form of 40 sleeping units (cabins) with individualized support services for unsheltered people in the Cowichan Valley through which their underlying health and social needs can be addressed. Project activities are part of a comprehensive, multi-faceted, and holistic response to homelessness and related issues across the region. In this way, the project is an essential part of the continuum of services for unsheltered people in the Cowichan Valley and represents an important first step in helping people off the streets permanently.
People supported through the project will have access to multiple on-site services including but not limited to food security programs, case planning, health and safety programming, and community referrals. Site amenities will include c-can washrooms/shower units donated for use by BC Housing, an outdoor eating area in each pod, and a secure area for the distribution of medication and for people to meet with outside support services. A 20’ x 20’ modular staff unit with a washroom is part of this plan.
The project is based on an established model of housing already in use in the City of Duncan and on Cowichan Tribes land that has been successful in getting people off the street and reducing the number of interactions between the business community and unsheltered people. The design of the temporary accommodation site minimizes the need for unsheltered individuals to travel through the community to meet their needs, allowing them to shelter in place and reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
This project has been so successful that the neighbourhood is now in favour of it.
Other than a few people who registered objections to the project, the opposition to it that was prevalent when the transitional-housing model was first proposed in 2021 appears to have almost evaporated.
At the time, more than 600 people in the Trunk Road neighbourhood signed a petition against it, and many delegations spoke in opposition to it at the meeting when Duncan’s city council first decided to allow it to operate within its jurisdiction.
No delegations spoke against it at the meeting on Oct. 21, and of the more than 30 emails the city received on the issue, just one was opposed.
…
The Village has been deemed so successful by a number of other municipalities on Vancouver Island, including Victoria and Nanaimo, that they recently urged the province to incorporate the model for transitional housing as part of B.C.’s supportive-housing strategy, and for the housing model to receive continued funding from BC Housing.
Here’s some (selected) impact statements from participants in a similar housing project - pg 149 of the Dec 13 2021 Agenda Packet.
Residents at the Ramada, June 24, 2020
“Having housing... I got a job! [...] The housing has been really good.” – Dan
“The RCMP were always on my case. But they haven’t been bothering me now.” - anonymous
“I can deal with my health here. If I get sick in the shelter, in close proximity to other people [...] it’s not a healthy environment for me.” –Dan (living with a serious health condition)
“For me, it’s a lot better here because you’re not uncertain of where you are going or stay at night, and you feel safer being indoors and in a supportive environment, and you are not worried about people stealing your stuff.” – anonymous
“Having a secure place to sleep that is safe, and having a bed to sleep in, and having a bathroom to be able to wash and clean has improved my mental health.” – anonymous
“It’s a simple concept, but having a toilet with toilet paper! You’re not having to rush because the business that you’re borrowing the bathroom from has a hissy fit that you’re a homeless person in their washroom. [...] and then with Covid, there were less and less places to find washrooms” Tracy Pocock
“My relationship with Bylaw or the police is not as antagonistic as before. When I would come into contact with them, it was because I was trespassing on Somenos Marsh. And I don’t blame them that they want me to shuffle along, but there’s nowhere else to go. But now Blackbird and the Bylaw people, I actually have a human conversation with them now. It is not as antagonistic.” Tracey Pocock
“We were living in our car, and there were only so many places to park where it feels safe. The police would come and check-in on you, or if you’re asleep, all of a sudden there would be lights on you. And now there is not that issue with the police. And I know they were only checking on us or doing their job. But sometimes it’s like – really?! I just fell asleep.” – anonymous
“The marsh was the only safe place I had. You are not safe at Warmland’s (shelter), that is for damn sure.” Tracey Pocock
“Quality of life has improved big time from what it was before. Here, I am clean all the time. I have clean clothes. Before, I could have a shower once week and clean clothes once a week. There was no handy water. And it is so hard to pack all of you stuff around, particularly at my age.” Tracey Pocock
“Not everybody always has money to go and do laundry, so it is nice that we are given the certificates to go and do laundry. And to be able to shower and be clean and to be able to live as normal people should be living instead of being judged by the public as, because we are homeless, we are troublesome or going to steal or leave a mess behind.” – anonymous
“They push you along, they push you along constantly. [...]
“Here we are treated as adults, we are treated as normal members of society.” – anonymous
Having healthy food provided and three meals each day was mentioned as being very beneficial. A couple of people said that previously, they would eat once a day or less, and it was not nutritious food.
One individual told me that they have been drinking less alcohol since moving in, and had not consumed drugs. This week they did use a drug for the first time in a while, due to the stress of not knowing about the future of their housing.
I know of two individuals who are fighting cancer at this time, as well as a number of elderly clients who say that going back to being homeless will be extremely detrimental to their health, some say they do not think they could survive being homeless again.
This Ask the Experts video interviews Village residents.
The City of Medicine Hat can learn a lot from The Village project. Medicine Hat Community Housing has known that we lacked the transitional housing to successfully house people permanently. Right now the Unhoused are set up for failure, transitional Housing needs to happen now. It can be set up quickly if the money and the will is there.
Housing is the responsibility of the province but they’ve dropped the ball - hard. The Mustard Seed has shown they are not responsive to the community; they’ve lost the trust of the community. Alberta boasts of “Western Hospitality”. We need to extend that hospitality to more than just tourists, we need to extend it to our own residents.
