Let's find better place to house homeless

Re: Lowertown residents upset about location of COVID-19 isolation centre for the homeless, Feb. 9.

I appreciate the comments of Wendy Muckle that the decision to locate the isolation centre for homeless, COVID-positive persons was made without much consideration of the location or consultation with local residents because “… it was like our hair was on fire …”

Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures and Ottawa Inner City Health should be commended for acting so quickly.

The fire is now out, and I suggest the time is ripe to find a more effective venue. COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon. Simply telling the residents of Lowertown and their children to wear masks and practise social distancing is not a reassuring solution.

It is less than optimal to locate this facility, populated by COVID- positive, transient residents, in the middle of a densely populated residential area servicing several schools and recreation facilities. Surely better alternatives can be found.

One suggestion was the EY Centre. It most certainly is not being used at the moment. It is generating no revenue for the owners, but is still costly to maintain.

The city/province could offer a tax incentive to encourage use of the facility. To sweeten the pie, possibly the cost of maintaining the building during its use as an isolation centre could be determined as a donation and be tax-deductible.

Not only is it in an isolated area, but there are open spaces that allow for safe outdoor exposure. The facility is huge, which would allow for a more spacious and comfortable residence. Further, there is ample space to provide medical and mental health resources for this segment of our population who are historically marginalized.

There must be several locations that would meet the criteria to provide safe accommodation for the vulnerable while protecting city residents from unnecessary COVID exposure. All that seems missing is the will to address this.

Gerald Yemensky, Ottawa