Shelter looks to expand, while dealing with stigma
Community perception of its clientele a persistent issue for The Lighthouse
As The Lighthouse Supported Living routinely looks to adapt its services and expand its programs, the shelter and affordable living complex also continues responding to perceptions about crime in the downtown area.
The reason is pretty simple, The Lighthouse executive director Don Windels acknowledged in a recent interview: “Because we do deal with some of the hardest-to-house individuals.”
Attention sometimes focuses on crime in the area because of The Lighthouse’s location, across the street from the Scotiabank Theatre and down the road from the Remai Modern art gallery.
“When (negative comment) is done publicly on radio, like, ‘Those people at The Lighthouse should just get a job,’ the general public is going to do the same thing,” Windels said.
One recent incident wasn’t tied by Saskatoon police to The Lighthouse, but Windels said he knows that because of where it took place, people will draw their own conclusions, accurate or not.
On Feb. 28, a group of five coworkers were returning to their office on 19th Street when they were confronted by a man with a hatchet. In an interview, Greg Keller said he and four others left a restaurant near the corner of Second Avenue and 20th Street East and had passed The Lighthouse when a man started running toward them and yelling.
Keller said when one of his coworkers shouted at him to run, he turned and saw someone approaching quickly, swinging a hatchet and yelling obscenities.
“It all happened quite fast and when I turned around I saw the man quite close behind me with the hatchet in his raised hand,” Keller said.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening. I think I was in shock.”
Citing confidentiality for anyone who walks through the doors, Windels would not say whether the man charged in connection with the hatchet-wielding incident had used The Lighthouse’s services.
With the details still fresh in his mind days later, Keller said he planned to be more aware of his surroundings while walking downtown.
“I don’t feel safe now, that’s for sure,” he said.
Largely in response to the Feb. 28 incident, Downtown Saskatoon, the downtown business improvement district, called for action in the area, citing “recent high-profile events” which have “shone a spotlight on the question of safety in downtown Saskatoon.”
The BID said it wants the province to address immediate safety and security needs at The Lighthouse and conduct an “immediate assessment” of its programs, funding and location “to determine if the current way of providing services is generating intended outcomes.”
The BID also called on city police to “immediately” deploy more officers to the downtown and develop a comprehensive downtown policing strategy.
“We have much work to do to address the challenges, and that work will continue,” the BID said Wednesday in a statement. “But right now — today — we can do something to improve the quality of life of every person who lives, works, or plays in our downtown.”
Saskatoon police on Wednesday said its district model of policing is in the process of changing to allow for a more consistent presence downtown. The SPS also said an alternate policing model is under development for 2021, meant to add police visibility in the area.
Police noted that 10 new frontline staff have been added for 2020 that will help increase officer presence in the central division — which includes core neighbourhoods — and mean they won’t draw on resources from other parts of the city as much. The new officer positions include eight officers for the Community Mobilization Unit that will monitor the safe consumption site in Pleasant Hill once it opens on 20th Street West.
Insp. Cam Mcbride, who oversees the central division, told media on Wednesday that police already are “engaged in” many of the actions in the BID’S calls to action.
Additionally, a low-risk policing pilot project is included in the 2021 budget for community safety officers. Mcbride said police could develop a model that would augment the Community Support Officer program or it could be more enforcement oriented.
“Certainly, we anticipate they will have an impact on downtown. They likely will have an impact on both the businesses and community based organizations that exist downtown, and we anticipate having a very positive effect on what’s happening downtown,” Mcbride said.
Windels said most issues in the area aren’t caused by people The Lighthouse is trying to help. Rather, they’re caused by people — such as drug dealers — preying on The Lighthouse’s clients or others in need.
“The increase in meth (use) is increasing violence and increasing issues that do affect safety and the appearance of safety,” he said.
“And if a person challenges another person or if they don’t know how to deal with it, they can escalate a problem very quickly rather than de-escalate. Our staff are trained to de-escalate a situation. If I confront almost anyone, if I get in your face, you’re probably going to react, and so sometimes people do things that are not wise and they are actually making the problem worse.”
Chronic homelessness has to involve the community coming together, Windels said.
Inside The Lighthouse is a maze of hallways that connect program, activity and living spaces. Among the programs available is the Managed Alcohol Program, which Windels counts as a success. Its goal is to prevent clients from drinking other alcohol-containing products such as mouthwash, or committing crimes to obtain a substance. Under the program, which launched last year, clients are provided a scheduled pour of fortified wine in a controlled environment.
Windels said that program, as well as its supported housing program, needs to expand. The Lighthouse is working with the Safe Community Action Alliance (SCAA) on actions that can be taken to address housing and homelessness in the city. During public meetings last summer, one suggestion made to The Lighthouse was to look at separating its harm reduction program from its recovery-based programs.
“We agree it probably would serve our clientele better if we could separate some of those aspects of what we do,” Windels said.
“What that looks like, the community is still coming together to come up with an idea of how that will look, where it would be, what services would be provided. And location is very important.”