Mobile health van looking for other places to park to help people in Cambridge

Some people may be left at the curb, as Sanguen’s mobile van service looks for a new location in Cambridge.

The Van, as Sanguen calls it, provides people around the region with access to naloxone, harm reduction supplies, food, and other products they need. They posted on social media recently that they are pausing their outreach services at The Bridges emergency shelter location on Market Street after several years without any issues.

In a statement to CityNews 570, a spokesperson for Sanguen Health Centre said they typically park there for only one hour each week. The community health van team was approached by bylaw in Cambridge last July, informing them the area was a no parking zone — citing concerns around traffic and safety.

“Van staff have worked diligently to look for alternative spots in Cambridge that will serve the many clients that are seen at this stop each week. These new locations have been met with their own set of challenges and at this time we are concerned for the safety and well-being of our staff and clients,” read the statement from Sanguen. “Sanguen staff have reached out to the city to ask for assistance with finding a solution and at this time have been told that they are unable to help us find a suitable option.”

The statement goes on to say “It’s important to note that The Van is an integral part of Sanguen’s overall menu of services delivered within Cambridge. Aside from The Van, Sanguen partners with a number of community agencies to provide nursing and counseling services in supportive housing; the Primary Care Bus which brings healthcare to locations where people would not otherwise have access; a street outreach team to provide social support and health care for those living in encampments; and we are in conversation with partners to look for ways to expand our services to lower income neighbourhoods.”

The statement ends with “At Sanguen we believe that people living in at-risk communities deserve compassionate support and accurate information to assist them to make informed choices about their lives and their health.There is a growing need for this type of support in our community and Sanguen is committed to finding a way to continue to serve our clients across the region including in Cambridge. We are also committed to working collaboratively with our community partners at the City of Cambridge to find a solution.”

The Director of Communications for the City of Cambridge, Alana Russell, told CityNews in an interview that this is a regional initiative, but the city is open to having conversations with community partners.

Russell mentioned that The Van has been parking at the location on Market Street in an illegal parking zone. The city has issued them warnings previously about the location.

“The city has yet to be invited to any kind of collaboration or conversation around finding a suitable location for the Sanguen van. We are happy to participate in that but at this point of time we have only received a very specific request formally and another informal request for site specific locations, but we’re happy to participate in a dialogue that takes this further with other partners who might want to participate,” said Russell.

Russell added, “We see the value in these wrap-around services that support our most vulnerable community members, we just need to make that we are supporting them in a way that’s safe for them and for those around them at that location and the one on Market Street in a live lane of traffic was not an appropriate location, but we could look at another one in the future.”

Russell said that Sanguen Health Centre put in a parking exemption request for the site but asked for it to be parked there Tuesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., which is known to be peak traffic hours in the city.

“The Bridges is a common location that emergency services do respond to, and so to have groups of people with their belongings and different items in the roadway at a peak time of traffic, as well as anticipating the need for emergency service access, simply wouldn’t make sense,” said Russell.

The Van is a significant part of the services Sanguen provides in Cambridge.

While Sanguen scouts out new locations, they said, “Folks who access our services in Cambridge are able to find us at the Food Bank stop and once we have found a solution to this current challenge, we will communicate out to the public with an update.”

Sanguen also said they are committed to working collaboratively with community partners at the City of Cambridge to find a solution.