Creating a ghetto?

Joe Virdiramo says he’s worried expanding the Shelter House’s alcohol management program to the former Donald Street Superior North EMS station could create a ghetto.

The Westfort councillor voiced his opposition to the expansion of the alcohol management program at Monday night’s meeting. The majority of council voted in favour of the recommendation to look at the Shelter House’s bid to purchase the building.

Only Virdiramo voted against it.

The current building located beside the George Street shelter is a two-storey building, is expected to add about five more beds for a total of 20.

Although Virdiramo supports the program, he wasn’t convinced that Donald Street was the right location.

“I still want the city to look at a new facility,” he told council. “I don’t want this facility in this location. I feel we’re creating an area where there is an overabundance of social services. We may be creating a ghetto.”

Virdiramo argued that the city spends more than a million dollars to support the programs at Shelter House and shows they care.
Red River Coun. Brian McKinnon voiced similar concerns.

He asked if the city needed to pile more social services in the same area.

Executive director Patty Hajdu said they haven’t look at other areas because it’s far more efficient to have the new facility close by.

“At the end of the day it is a non-profit organization and we try to keep our administrative costs low,” Hajdu said. “To have multiple sites throughout the city would not likely be economically feasible. The poverty exists in the downtown south core.  What we’re doing is alleviating the symptoms of poverty. I understand the concern but I think with or without us you will have poverty in the downtown core.”

The organization would ideally keep the building the program is currently housed in and use it to expand its youth services.

Twenty-five per cent of the Shelter House population is youth ages 16 to 24.

Hajdu said they’re looking at separating the youth from the main shelter by offering 10 beds.

The program serves both men and women that are severely homeless, restricted from other services in the community and have a chronic alcohol issue.

It’s been full since it started.

The program also aims to reduce the load on emergency services like the police, EMS and the hospital’s emergency room.

Current River Coun. Andrew Foulds gave his support to the expansion. He put forward a resolution to get a report on the city’s situation as soon as possible.

“There’s no question that this is a strategic direction on how we want to deal with this issue,” Foulds said. “Let’s call a spade a spade. These are people dying on our streets behind buildings and on railway tracks. We have to act. The first part of that process is this report.”