SASKATOON — Saskatoon Tribal Council’s new Emergency Wellness Centre in Fairmont Drive will follow the same safety and security procedures they had in place when their facility was downtown.
STC Chief Mark Arcand said they have peacekeepers and other staff 24 hours a day who' can assist relatives in keeping things in order and ensuring unruly behaviour is not accepted. At the same time, paramedics will also be on-site to administer first aid if needed.
“We’re running the same process we’ve done [in the downtown facility]. We have 20 people per shift every night. We’ve employed 60 people in 24 hours in this facility that, includes our peacekeepers and support workers,” said Arcand as the new facility opened Friday, Dec. 2.
“That does not include the paramedic that we have on-site and other specialized programs. Above and beyond, our system downtown is the same one we will have here in the new facility.”
Arcand added that relatives staying in their facility would have to remove their winter gear and leave their other belongings inside a bin designated to them by the staff on duty. This way, no alcohol or other illegal substances can be sneaked inside the centre.
“They can only go in with what they’re wearing. They got to put everything in their bin and they will get wanded, making sure this is a safe place and all of their [belongings] goes inside their bin. Nobody else can go in there.”
He said they would strictly impose that males, females and families remain in their respective pods as they won’t allow intermingling with the staff on duty, keeping a close watch on this as the safety of the relatives is their top priority.
“If it’s male, they will be taken to the male pod and the same goes for females and families. It is structured regarding safety. At the end of the day, I think the priority is the safety of the relatives and the safety of the staff. We’ve made a good investment on the ratio of 106 people to 20 staff every eight hours, which is one [staff] is to five [relatives],” said Arcand.
Arcand said they still don’t allow drinking or the use of illegal substances inside the facility, as one of the goals of the wellness centre is to help the relatives stop their vices and get the needed counselling to get sober.
“We know who is walking out and what they will do. So on the front [area], we’re trying to tell people don’t go to the sides [of the facility] because we can’t see them. But if they’re going to the side, we know what they’re going to do, so we keep an eye on them,” he said.
“When they are on our property, we must ensure they are safe. Now, if they don’t want to do what they are going to do [outside the property], they might go for a walk somewhere else, and that’s kind of out of our hands.”
Arcand added that they are not trying to promote the use of illegal substances as they are against it, and they want to help the relatives get over their addictions, recover and be back on their feet.
“We’re not saying do it here, but they will still do it somewhere else no matter what. We’ve seen it, and it’s all over our city. Our staff will be here to keep them [relatives] safe. If we don’t keep an eye on them, somebody might overdose outside the building. We don’t want to be liable to anything, that is why we’re trying to keep them safe and we’re trying to get some sense into them.”
STC has slowly transitioned its operations from the downtown centre to the new facility with more space and 106 beds ready for relatives while also having areas where others can warm themselves up as temperatures get colder.
The facility on Fairmont Drive is a former church with collapsible walls divided into four pods for men, women and families with children. Ninety-seven relatives stayed in the new facility Thursday night, which is expected to reach a capacity of 106 on Friday.
The new wellness centre is home to five families, which include 12 children out of the 97 relatives staying at the new location. STC’s operations at the downtown site will end on Sunday, Dec. 4.
McKercher LLP, led by Executive Committee Chair Collin Hirschfeld, donated 300 new pairs of socks to the STC wellness centre First Nations Capital & Infrastructure Agency CEO Drew Pearson gave jackets and other winter gear to the relatives.
