Sutherland residents rally against latest Saskatoon emergency shelter

The proposed 30-bed facility’s proximity to a Ukrainian bilingual school is of particular concern for parents in the Saskatoon community..

Published Feb 22, 2024 • 4 minute read

The former fire hall at 421 Central Avenue has been proposed to be converted into a 30-bed emergency shelter to be operated by The Mustard Seed, an Alberta-based charity. Photo by Michelle Berg /Saskatoon StarPhoenix

A group of residents from Saskatoon’s Sutherland neighbourhood is staging rallies amid a campaign to halt a proposed emergency shelter proposed in their community.

“So far we’ve seen zero information with regards to what measures will be put in place to ensure community safety“ Olesya Hursky told the StarPhoenix.

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Hursky and other residents have begun a campaign of letter-writing to elected officials and public rallies meant to draw awareness to their concerns over a 30-bed emergency shelter facility proposed for a former fire hall at 421 Central Avenue.

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Residents were expecting to learn more details this month at information sessions meant to allow the community to hear from the province, city officials and representatives of The Mustard Seed, the Alberta-based charity selected by the province to operate the proposed facility.

Those sessions have been postponed to March 11 and 12, leaving Hursky and others to wonder what the plan is for ensuring the shelter doesn’t attract crime and disorder to the neighbourhood, with particular worry surrounding safety plans for nearby Bishop Filevich Ukrainian Bilingual School.

Hursky, who came to Canada from Ukraine 23 years ago, has two of her own children attending the school, which has seen enrolment rise from about 140 kids to 275 with the arrival of Ukrainian families who have fled since Russia invaded in February 2022.

“Who will be doing sweeps of the schoolyard? Who will make sure that when children go out on recess, they aren’t meeting people with complex needs doing things that kids should not be exposed to seeing?” she asked.

She added the proposed shelter is located just under 80 metres from where the school grounds begin, according to her measurements.

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While she said it was likely a bad idea to put a homeless shelter near any school, she said Bishop Filevich’s “unique scenario” makes the proposed site even more unsuitable.

“There’s a lot of kids who have emotional trauma from being in war, there’s children whose parents are still there, children whose families are still there,” Hurksy said, while pointing out that even something as simple as a fire drill takes extra preparation to ensure kids know “it’s not a plane carrying bombs, it’s a fire alarm and it’s OK, it’s just a test.”

Hursky said she and other residents are sensitive to the need for emergency housing for people experiencing homelessness.

“We all know that it’s a possibility; you lose your job, you get sick — you never know, anyone can be in that situation,” she said. Still, though, she questioned whether having people housed in a residential neighbourhood with no existing services for people in need is the right way to proceed.

“This shelter will just be a bed and food, and nothing else,” she said, adding it was unrealistic to expect people to make lengthy journeys on foot or by bus to access services.

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A few dozen residents held a demonstration Monday at the intersection of Central Avenue and Attridge Drive, with another planned for late Thursday afternoon at the intersection of College Drive and Preston Avenue.

Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill represents the area around the proposed shelter.

While he said he remains a firm supporter of adding “desperately needed” emergency shelter beds in the city, he called for a more “strategic, thoughtful” approach on placing facilities and integrating them into an overall system meant to transition people into longer-term housing.

“Was that location picked simply because it was a vacant building?” he asked, while adding there were “valid questions” around potential impact to the surrounding neighbourhood that haven’t been addressed.

Hill went on to question the city’s involvement with the site selection; the province earlier this year asked to have officials in the city administration come up with a list of potential sites for the province to pick from for two new 30-bed shelters.

“The province has connected and tied the city directly into this process when, realistically, we should not have been in the first place,” he said.

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The city’s involvement creates potential confusion about which order of government is responsible for the facility, Hill added, and criticized the “mismanaged” announcement of the location, which he argued never should have been made before dates for public information sessions were firmly set.

Council is expected next month to vote on three items needed to allow the Sutherland shelter to proceed; an agreement to lease the city-owned building to the province at a below-market rate, an agreement on setting up to an 18-month term for a temporary emergency shelter to operate there and a rezoning to allow for the proposed use of the building.

“This is not a done deal,” Hill said, adding he has encouraged concerned residents to lobby provincial MLAs and city councillors ahead of the proposed site opening.

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