Emergency shelter alongside Kitchener high school continues to draw concerns

An emergency overnight shelter adjacent to a local high school continues to cause concern for some parents and area residents.

The shelter, which has been housed in the former Edith MacIntosh Child Care Centre in Kitchener since late June, is located directly beside Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute and some in the neighbourhood suggest it has overstayed its welcome.

In a series of emails to CityNews 570, listeners have passed along pictures and descriptions of what they detail as being drugs, discarded needles, and other belongings strewn about on the ground, several potential overdoses, and human waste lining a nearby trail.

The region, meantime, does confess there have been some issues.

“This particular location had its challenges throughout the summer and we recognized and committed to it only being a temporary solution and we worked closely with our partners at the school board to address concerns as they came up and that's what we continue to do as we look to build further capacity in the shelter system elsewhere in the community,” said Peter Sweeney, Commissioner of Community Services at the Region of Waterloo.

Sweeney said those additions have included extra lighting, waste disposal, and more security, adding the safety of all involved remains the region's top priority.

He acknowledged there are some extra challenges related to this type of shelter, in that it's not open 24/7.

“Folks show up and they're expected to leave and the operation closes for the day and they have to take their things with them,” said Sweeney, adding there are also extra challenges related to the demographic of people in need of these services. “People who are struggling on many levels, and we're trying to take a human-centred and dignity-focused approach.”

The region, meantime, maintains this site will be closed by Sep. 28.

As for concerns over communication with neighbourhood residents in the lead-up and throughout the time this shelter has been open, Sweeney said high demand doesn't always allow for as much consultation as they'd like.

“The necessity of the acuity of the situation doesn't always lend itself for long, engaged community consultation where we're asking people for their opinions on where we should do one thing or another,” he said. “In this particular case, as much as we did our best to communicate with the neighbourhood […] we can always look to do that in as more of a robust way as possible, […] sometimes we have to move fast and we try to balance that as much as possible wherever we can.”