Warm welcome for Harbour Landing facility
Facilities in Regina and Weyburn get very different receptions in communities
Patrick Doran and Steven Gass have at least 24 bowling trophies between them, each one proudly on display in their rooms in a brand-new Harbour Landing bungalow.
Their home is full of merchandise celebrating their love for the Calgary Flames, the Regina Pats and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
For Coun. Bob Hawkins, it all goes to show that the two men — roommates in a group home for people with intellectual disabilities — are neighbours “like you and I.”
“We’re so glad to have these residents as our neighbours, and we know they’re going to contribute greatly to the neighbourhood,” said Hawkins, who represents Harbour Landing at Regina city council.
“It’s a perfect fit. We welcome them generously and with open arms.”
Four men with intellectual disabilities — Patrick, Steven, Brodie and John — have lived in this house since July. But Thursday was the grand opening for the group home, which offers 24-hour support through Regina Residential Resource Centre.
It’s much the same kind of home that Weyburn Group Homes Society Inc. was hoping to operate in Weyburn’s Creeks neighbourhood, another new suburban development on the edge of town.
But the welcomes the two homes got from their city councillors are like night and day.
Hawkins took a tour of the group home in his ward. After the ribbon cutting, he and Doran exchanged a hug.
Weyburn city councillor Brad Wheeler cited the “stigma” of group homes before voting to reject granting discretionary approval to the proposal to open the home. He later apologized for his language, but council has not reversed its decision.
That left Gass incredulous. “Why don’t they want them?” he asked.
The reaction of his next-door neighbour provides a hint. Roy Hunt said he understands that group homes have to go somewhere in Regina, but he isn’t so happy about his new neighbours. He said he has little interaction with them, since, in his view, they “don’t react to you.”
Gass admits he doesn’t know his neighbours very well, but says it’s because he’s “shy.”
Hunt also shares the concerns that some Weyburn residents raised in letters to council, worrying that the group home could reduce property values.
“We put a lot of money into having a place in a nice neighbourhood, and now it’s gone,” he said.
“There is just a price to be paid for having it next to you.”
But Hawkins said he doesn’t believe those concerns are valid.
“There’s no evidence whatsoever that the presence of a group home in a community lowers property values,” he said. “It’s just not the case.
“Stigma has no place in this conversation.”
Social Services Minister Paul Merriman feels the same way. He showed up for the grand opening on Thursday. The government is contributing $23,338 for a mortgage on the property, which replaced an aging home in Rothwell Place. He said he met “four great guys with a great sense of humour.”
In Merriman’s view, one group home is much like another. He said he’s still hopeful that Weyburn city council will change its tune, and afford the same welcome.
“We’ve heard some very positive information earlier this week that they had an emergency meeting and they were reconsidering their decision,” he said. “Hopefully they will reconsider their decision and finalize it at their Monday meeting, and I’ll be anxious to hear what decisions they come to.”
He said officials from his ministry travelled to Weyburn to explain the benefits of having a group home in the Creeks.
Hunt said he was never consulted on the decision to put a group home on his street on Harbour Landing. Two doors down, on the other side of the home, Bob Bratley said much the same thing — but he had much warmer feelings about the home.
“It would have been nice to know that the group home was going in there,” said Bratley. “But since they’ve been there, we’ve had no problems at all. No noise. Just like any other neighbour.”
He said the only trouble he has is with the parking, due to staff doing shift work. He isn’t worried about property values.
“They mind their own business and do their own thing,” he said. “It shouldn’t affect the neighbourhood at all.”
While Gass was surprised to hear that anyone would oppose a group home, he said there’s something critics on Weyburn city council should understand.
“Well, maybe that we’re nice people,” he said.