For Better Cambridge organizes forum to ‘educate public’

CAMBRIDGE — Cambridge is going to face some challenging decisions, and grassroots group For a Better Cambridge wants the community to come up with solutions.

Next month, the local group is organizing a public forum with community leaders working on the front lines, dealing with homelessness and addiction.

The forum, to be held Nov. 7 at Cambridge City Hall, with feature heads of the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank, the Cambridge Shelter Corporation (Bridges), House of Friendship, Sanguen Health Centre, and Lutherwood Housing. Joe Mancini of The Working Centre is the special guest speaker.

“We are trying to educate the public on services in our community,” said Dan Clements, one of the group’s co-founders.

“It’s background information for future decisions we have to make,” he said.

Some of those decisions include whether Galt will be the home of a supervised consumption site and where will it be located, and if the Bridges shelter moves, where will it go.

When it comes to consumption sites, all plans are on hold while the provincial government reviews whether it will fund sites.

Region of Waterloo Public Health proposed two possible locations in downtown Galt, but the City of Cambridge passed a bylaw banning any site from its core area.

Public health wants to open a supervised consumption site in Cambridge and Kitchener.

“We are not anti SCS (supervised consumption site) or pro SCS,” said Clements.

“We want to listen to the other side and come up with a rational approach,” said group member Rick Hilborn.

Hilborn, who has run Hilborn Pottery in downtown Galt for 36 years, installed motion lights and put up no trespassing signs at his business after people camped out behind his dumpster.

As for Bridges, the agency has announced it is planning on moving from its Ainslie Street location.

For many Galt-area residents, the move is welcome news.

The grassroots group started about a year ago because of concerns with people setting up tents on trails and on private property around the downtown area, as the region dealt with an opioid crisis.

Used needles in parks and trails sparked other groups who organized cleanups in neighbourhoods.

“It was scary,” said Clements, referring to downtown Galt last year.

Since then the city struck a task force, core areas were cleaned of used needles and police increased their presence in the core.

“We are trying to influence and attract attention to things,” Clements said.

Clements said he would like to see “citizen engagement” participating in concrete solutions for the city.

“Don’t come up with a location and then look to the public to buy in,” he said.