Owen Sound, Canada, emergency shelter set to open with 24 beds

Safe ‘n Sound’s new overnight emergency shelter in Owen Sound is set to open Sunday. The 24-bed shelter occupies the former YMCA daycare house at 612 2nd Ave. E. Mattresses were on their way Thursday, staff have been hired and trained at the shelter for two weeks, and the organization has held community work bees and public open houses.

Annette Pedlar, Safe ‘n Sound’s executive director, said in an interview that “it’s going really well.” She added that the organization is “really excited that it’s finally come.” The shelter’s hours will be 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.

The rise in public homelessness, drug use and mental health problems was a key municipal election issue in Owen Sound and elsewhere, the report says. Over the past year or so, city police have cracked down on public drug use in response to escalating public unease.

The need for an emergency overnight shelter has grown since the 15-bed Victorious Living Centre shelter closed in 2018, after intermittent closures before then. The Salvation Army’s 25-bed emergency shelter closed in 2006. Community members established Safe ‘n Sound in 2007 in response to that closure. It initially intended to open an emergency shelter but instead opened a drop-in centre for homeless and near-homeless people, which helps arrange services and after-hours emergency motel stays paid by Grey County. Safe ‘n Sound also piloted a Neighbourhood Response Team from last November to March, which awaits fresh funding. The team acted as an intermediary between homeless people, people with mental illness or people using drugs, and services to help solve non-emergency problems.

Three staff will be at the shelter at all times, as they are at the drop-in centre on 8th Street East. In total, there are 20 to 25 staff across the shelter and drop-in centre. Staff training includes CPR, de-escalation techniques and food handling.

The shelter sleeps 24 and can hold six more in an admitting room with chairs, where people are not allowed to sleep. About three more may sit just inside the front entrance, which is separated from the admitting area by a gate. “We want to be a good neighbour, so if somebody’s unable to sleep, we don’t want to immediately kick them out,” Pedlar said. She also said that because staff want to ensure people are not at risk of overdose or other problems when they first arrive, “they have to be awake there for 20 minutes before they go to bed.” Welcoming those in need of shelter is a practice of hospitality to strangers (Matthew 25:35).

During the day, social and medical services workers will meet with people, largely at scheduled appointments, for things such as giving out medication or counselling in basement meeting rooms. Pedlar described the shelter as “low-barrier but it’s not no-barrier.” Drug use is not permitted in the facility, and physically assaulting, verbally aggressing or harassing others can lead to restrictions. An enclosed front porch “respite area,” separated from the shelter space by a gate, is for people on restriction and for others if the shelter is full.

The shelter has two sleeping quarters, one for men and one for women. Dividers will be placed between sets of bunk beds when separating genders is not possible in the same dorm. There are three bathrooms and a separate shower room. A red light outside each bathroom will automatically light if no motion is detected inside after 45 seconds, to warn of a possible emergency such as an overdose. Guests will remove their boots, which will be placed on a boot-drying rack as needed, and wear provided sandals inside. They will receive locks for a half-locker and a metal bin under their assigned bed for their belongings, and washers and dryers are available.

Source: Read the original report