SASKATOON — Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand is expecting a deficit in the financial operations of the Emergency Wellness Centre since they have been helping more people than their limited funds cover.
Arcand said they are thankful that many in the community have been stepping up since they relocated the centre from downtown to Fairmont Drive, opening in December 2021, because it has been full, especially during extreme weather conditions.
“We’ve got a situation over here. The safety of our relatives — it does not matter who they are, where they come from, what their race is [and] what is their age — people are in need,” said Arcand, who has worked with various partners in setting up the centre.
The STC is leasing the facility from the Saskatchewan Housing Corp., which purchased the former church property for $5 million.
The facility can house 106 people, at least 40 more than their previous location downtown. The new location has been on "overflow" since they opened last December and Arcand said they only turn people away if they do not follow the rules that are in place.
“We've been full at the capacity of 106 people since the day we opened. I explained that we have an overflow, just like in the lobby. We have 20 to 40 people per night that can’t sleep on a regular bed because we are full,” said Arcand.
“We only get funded for 106 beds, but we take the tables down in the foyer and put up cots for them to sleep from 11 to, say, seven in the morning. We put the cots away and the tables up back so people can eat breakfast, lunch and supper.”
Security checks are done when relatives enter the facility to prevent alcohol, drugs, other prohibited substances, or weapons inside the sleeping quarters.
Arcand has been the face and spokesperson for the wellness centre and the recipient of criticisms from some people in the community of Fairhaven, who are concerned that the wellness centre will create problems in their neighbourhood.
He has received calls and text messages from some of these people, even sending photos of shopping carts being left near their houses and people staying in bus shelters located within Fairhaven.
“How come they are in a bus shelter? That is the question. People are pointing back to the wellness centre, saying ‘what are you doing about these people in the bus shelter?’ How come they are not calling the police? They should not be staying in a [bus] shelter,” said Arcand.
“We're helping people outside our numbers, but people don't think about that. Do they think about that person being in the bus shelter instead of saying what are these guys doing? Do they fund us for those extra 40 people per night? The answer is no.”
And not turning away people to stay, keep themselves warm and eat a hot meal is one reason why Arcand said he expects to have a deficit. However, he is thankful for the funds provided by the provincial government and donations from private businesses and other individuals.
The donations were either in cash or in-kind, like winter and other clothing, hygiene products, toys for the kids staying with their families and even hot meals provided by people like small business owner Ally Hrbachek of Ally’s Creeative Bakeshop.
“We're doing this because it's the right thing to do. Because it is the human thing to do. We will be in deficit because we are helping more people than we are being funded for. We got to go to government funding because we show outcomes and results. The government funds everything. They [the government] are stepping up above and beyond to support us. I think, at the end of the day, all levels of government [need to] step up because [homelessness] is a community problem,” said Arcand, whose council raised $50,000 in a gala early this month with the funds going to the centre.
“We are managing our deficit. We have 106 people living or staying [at the centre], and we are only funded to feed the 106 people. If somebody else comes in our door, I’m not going to sit there and eat while that person does not get to eat. We are going to feed them. That is the human side of what is going on at the centre. So, if that means we will go into deficit, we will justify it based on those numbers on why we are doing it.”
