21 Jul 2025 Council meeting Safety

Drop-In Hub Update

Motion
That Council: 1. Allocate $125,000 from the funding designated to support homelessness initiatives in the Special Initiatives Reserve to extend the existing service agreement with United Way BC and fund daytime operations until March 31, 2026, to continue service levels over the winter season 2025/2026; 2. Direct Staff to work with Hub service providers and United Way BC to identify and secure a more suitable location which includes shower services; and, 3. Direct Staff to report back to the Finance and Audit Committee in fall 2025 with an update on alternate funding or service delivery models.
Minutes, page 7
Sources
Agenda itemCity agenda, whole meeting

Sheryl Armstrong No

Thank you for your chart. Now, that's only showing BC. Housing sites. Right. It's not showing the, because there are so greenhouses that are privately run treatment centers that are privately run. Those are just BC housing sites. That's correct. Thank you just wanted to confirm that.

Erin Hemmens Yes

Robertson, for being here and for being here with us at our finance audit committee meeting. I just want to paint a picture for council. I've known Sydney for 15 years. I met her when we were putting on a play in Deverel Square park. And this is. The work that Sika used to do. This was the priority of Seko, was to put on plays in the park, and now I'm seeing my exhausted neighbors come to council in tears, many of them saying, we don't have time to put on the plays anymore because we're dealing with this, so. Just want to frame that, and people are feeling the emotionality in the room. It wasn't that long ago that we were just putting on place. Sydney. I note tonight in the neighborhood association. Report to counsel. Sika has prioritized three things that they want city staff to work on number three is actually related to what you're asking for. It's an expansion. Of cleaning services, particularly surrounding the social services in the south end neighborhood. I want you to know that I have a notice of motion coming on that later tonight. I'm wondering, though, you gave a long list of mitigation. That wasn't related to cleaning. So I can say the csos. We are increasing the budget. Whether that includes later hours, I'm not sure that's. An operational decision that we wouldn't have any control over. The RCMP is similar. We're increasing the budget there, but. We don't designate it to go to the south end. The changes in operating hours and. The changes in operating policies, I would strongly encourage you to share with Mr. Leverse and miss. Wood and see if we can continue the dialogue with the operators to make some of those changes. In the next eight months. And that's all I want to say. Your worship, thank you so much for being worship. And thank you, Mr. Richards, for being here. Do we have the housing? Stock? Absolutely not. I think part of my rationale for continuing the hub for the eight months that we do. One was winter. If we close it down, those folks in the rain and the cold are going to go to Diana Crawl. They're going to go to the italian fountain. They're going to go. To London, drugs at park place. So I rationalized containment. I also rationalized it by understanding that we have, I believe, 170 hearth sites coming on. That's at the 1300 old Island highway and the 1030 old. Victoria. As well as Travelers Lodge in central Nanaimo. So we know that there's this backlog. Of resources coming, and we know that the hub is a triage space for those people. So we know when those spaces are open, those folks should hopefully go right into housing. So just wanted to acknowledge that we absolutely do not have housing stock. To my understanding, their vacancy rates are minimal. If nothing, it's supportive housing, people. Those rooms. Are filled very quickly. You heard the point in time homeless count tonight. We have, I would say upwards of 1000 people looking for houses right now, and we have 170. In the pipeline. So that also plays into our conversation with the provincial government. When we say, do we say yes? Or no to supportive housing. For me. It's not a no. It's how are we going to do it and where? Are we going to put it? So I want to acknowledge your presentation tonight and your work for the community. You're pointing out some real deficits that I think we're all aware of. And working hard to fix. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I love a good, manly rant. I'm regrettably going to stick with my committee decision on this and my rationale is such that. We're in July, but in two months the rain is coming. And if we disperse these people now they're going to go to Diana crawl. They're going to go to the library. They're going to go to port place. They're going to go to the italian fountain. I've long felt, and I have some background in this. I was the coroner on call. That investigated the first death in tent city. I really believe that we need to find a place. Where we can keep people safe. That is not in neighborhoods. I want to thank my neighbors in the South End Community association for their resilience. And I extend that to Newcastle as well. Who is here? There are neighborhoods who are taking. Their unvey unfair share of the brunt of this challenge. Further to my decision to stick with my committee vote. I do know that the heart and hearth 170 beds are coming online and that the hub is a triage space for those people to be connected to those services. I do experience frustration that they're not totally open. That they're bringing in two to three a week right now, and I feel like we are in a crisis and. We can't just bring in two or three a week when we have 50 beds available. So that's my own challenge with PC housing. I'm heartened by. The incoming CSO capacity increase. And as noted later, I will be moving something about neighborhood cleanliness. So I regret this. This is a very difficult decision. But given. The points I've outlined. I'm going to stick with my original vote. Thank you.

Ian Thorpe Yes

Thank you, Councilor Thorpe. Thank you very much for worship. Through you, if I may. I am at this point prepared to accept the recommendation of the committee, which is on the floor. I agree with the comments of Councilor Armstrong, and I totally understand. I think I understand and certainly sympathize with the neighborhood concerns. And I appreciate the bringing those forward. I think. The extension until the end of March, like it or not, is a compromised position. I'm hearing that we are basically committed until the end of December anyway. But on the other hand, I really feel that we, as a council and as a city, Need to tell the provincial government that. We've had enough, and we need to take a strong position and in line with that. Your worship. I will tell you right now that next week I will be bringing forth a notice. Of motion. On a related topic designed to do exactly that, I think enough is enough. I think of the movie network and I won't give the quote. But we're mad. And we're not going to take it anymore. And that's easy to say, but. We have to put some action behind that. So again, I reluctantly will accept and support the recommendation. Which extends. This support until the end of March. I see it as a compromise. I'm sorry to the neighborhood. But. I think I'm prepared to go that far.

Paul Manly Yes

Thank you, worship. I have similar feelings as Councilor Thor Thorpe. I'm quite fed up with this situation. I've lived half a block from Bowen park for 24 years, and it's settled. Down now, but it's been a miserable situation. Over the years, and I certainly hear that people that have come. To council tonight to express. Their angst, their anger, their upset. What's going on? And this is. To quote the mayor here, this is decades of failed social problems. We had institutions closed down in the 80s. Riverview closed down without a plan. You just let people loose and let them out on the street, and they migrate down into the core of the city into the downtown east side and left to the predators on the street. And as somebody who's lost a loved one. Who suffered from mental health challenges and died of an overdose, who was preyed upon by people by the predators on the street. I've had enough of this. Decriminalizing people who use drugs was the right thing to do. But to do that on the back of the napkin kind of plan without the addiction services. Without the treatment facilities, without the support of housing, what we've done. As a society has exacerbated this problem. We've made it worse, and it is getting worse and worse. And this location. The hub is not appropriate. It is a concentration of services, but it's also a very dangerous place to have people hanging out on Nickel Street. Tumbling onto. The major highway rolling through our city, and it's an embarrassment. Honestly, it's a blight to. Have that kind of action. On what people get off the ferry and drive down highway one right through this. It's not an appropriate location. And I am fed up. And I think money better spent. You want to? I'm quite upset that the provincial government didn't come to the table with money. When we asked them to help us set these things up and to disperse these kind of services. In our community. That they rejected that, that they expect that we should be doing this. On property taxes for the citizens of Nanaimo. And I think money better spent would be to rent some buses, buy some market tents and some tents and ship them over to Gabriel island in front of the MLA's house. I'm fed up. Like you want to wake people up. This is my community, and it's not doing well. It's hurting. And I'm fed up.

Janice Perrino No

Councilor Prino. Thank you, worship. I'll just add just some comments. Councilor Manly made some excellent comments, although I certainly don't agree with putting people on buses and sending them over to an island. No, that's not acceptable. But what is acceptable? Is that if we are truly determined to stop this for the neighborhood, then we vote it down. Tonight. And that's the only thing that's going to stop it from happening in this. Neighborhood. And we have to keep pushing the provincial government. Yes, we have to keep trying to do what we can do. But I think councilor Hemmens made an excellent comment. I think it was to Mr. Guffilton, and I'm saying that wrong. I apologize, but. The comment is that if the hub is costing us a million dollars a year, Then for us to put five all over town. Would be 5 million. And these are your tax dollars. So that's not going to work either. What we've been trying to do is. You can see desperately trying to do is help. Those people that are in the greatest need, and we're not able to do it, so. We definitely have to get the provincial help. But no matter what we do tonight, It's going to go till the end of December. And you know what? That's good enough for me. I am sick and tired of hearing our residents who live in that area. Have to put up with this. They have a beautiful neighborhood, and this is absolute garbage. And every time I drive up, nickel or down nickel. I'm just horrified by what I see. So there's only one way. To stop it for this council, and that is to vote it down. So I'll be voting it down tonight.

Ben Geselbracht Yes

It's about a million dollars. And it is not sufficient funding to run it, and it's a cheap lease and running on shoestring running. And I think ultimately, I appreciate the comments, and I think we do. Need to be creative, and at the same time, we do really have to have a community response. And ask for the proper funding, and we're probably looking at something if we're going to adequately. Respond to the homelessness situation and have enough satellite hubs and be able to provide services. In a way that could meet people's needs and at the same time mitigate issues. In the community, you're probably looking at five, six, 7810 million dollars and that's. On the cheap end. And I think that we, just as a community, Need to come to the acceptance that. We've got 1000 people on the streets that are homeless. The last count was, like, 621. And that probably doesn't capture everybody. It's like we got to bite the reality bullet in the fact that we need to put serious resources in it, or else we're all going to be just frustrated driving each other crazy. It's tough. I live in the south end too, and it's difficult. And it's difficult hearing your neighbors talk. How difficult it is. It's difficult to come up with a plan. And I know our city staff who are working on this probably are. Carrying the biggest. Low distress out of everybody in the community because it's on them to find the solutions. And to coordinate in that, and they've been carrying the line, share the stress and I hear it from the communities and it sucks. It sucks all around and. We need to really bite that reality bullet and start requesting and demanding the resources that we need.
Councilor Kesselbrook. Thanks, mayor. Through you I'll be supporting. The recommendation. This is interim March 31. Is the end of the hub in that current location. I don't think it's appropriate at all. For the community to be paying five, $6 million to run multiple locations across town. I do think it's appropriate for the provincial government to be supporting that type of intervention and investment. And I do think it's a very appropriate. For the city to work with all of our partners and the province to actually put together a comprehensive plan of how we're going to address 600 people that are homeless in town. And the social disorder that it costs. Communities because it is not right that folks are left out on the streets to cope with. This incredibly large set of challenges and the disruption that it costs, and we are still in a void of having a comprehensive. Approach for our community that we can direct investment. And that should be coming from the provincial government. But we need to all work together to figure out what that's going to look like, because at this point in time, We don't have that vision.

Leonard Krog Yes

You'd have to have the heart of stone not to be moved for what you've. Heard tonight. But I am also conscious of the reality. If this is shut down, you will simply disperse this. Problem a little further out. Maybe it's a block or two. One way or the other. Maybe it's back. To port place. As councilor hemons has said. Or down to the fountain or wherever. But the folks who are on the street. Being who they are and the condition that they are are not going to disappear because we close. The hub. God knows I wish we weren't in this position. I haven't called for secure, involuntary care out of some sense of cruelty. I remind everybody as I say every time, these are people's children. They are their spouses, they are their nieces, their nephews. And some neighborhoods in this community have suffered a great deal more than many others, and I'm conscious of that. It was hard enough. For this location to be found. The policies of the provincial government respecting long term leasing on premises to provide services. Is such that very few, if any private landlords will rent the suggestions about city properties. Erecting structures, et cetera, et cetera. Getting permission, meeting, fire regulations, all of those things. Do not happen overnight. So I'm going to support what I supported last time. It's a compromise vote. And I realize that it is not going to be popular. And frankly, if I lived in the neighborhood, I'd feel just the same way each and every one of you do. But as councilor Hemmens has pointed out tonight, the folks of Newcastle are here. They've been suffering their own form of hell. For a very long time, a result of shutting down tent city, which I was surprised Mr. Gargle I think you said it seemed better with a tent city. I appreciate that may have been your position and. I'm not being sarcastic when I say it, but that was not a position shared by the vast majority of people in this community. So it's not going to get any better by not passing this motion tonight.

Hilary Eastmure Yes

Thank you. I just want to. Thank the neighbors who came out tonight. To share their perspective on what it's been like to share space with the drop in hub. And I really strongly believe in the importance of having a hub like this to connect people with. The supports that they need in order to do the housing assessments to get them into the hearth. Spaces that are opening. And I share the frustration that it's taken so long to open these hearth sites and I know that we are getting there. And. I will be supporting the continuation of the hub as we decided at finance committee. But with the expectation that we will take seriously the recommendations. That demands from the neighbors, and that includes increased CSO presence, increased support from our clean teams. And I'd also like to see more support from park staff to make Knob Hill park. Playable and enjoyable. And. I think that we should be referring these recommendations to the Public Safety Committee. And we may need to better resource these things in order to make the next eight months, livable. For community members. And I know that none of us were happy with this location, and we will continue to work. With the province. And I know that we are all really frustrated, but we also need to continue. To have good, working, respectful relationships with the province, that they take us seriously when we say that. Enough is enough. And it's not just that we're shutting the door on new investments to nan. Nano, but we need it done in a mindful way, with an actual strategy and with the pillars of support that are promised, and we don't just let them get away with making announcements and never following through on the pieces that we actually need to be successful in supporting our community. Thank you. Thank you.