Calgary officials are trying to make the city feel safer by testing the idea of small, daytime homeless shelters in the suburbs.
For Kim Richards, that approach was exactly what she needed.
The former small-business owner says she was stuck deep in grief and drug addiction, drawn into a negative crowd downtown and constantly fearful as she wandered the streets at night.
Then she heard about a day shelter at the end of the northwest CTrain line and decided to give it a try. What she found was a surprise.
“The atmosphere is so much more positive and different than downtown. People, as they come off the CTrain, are happier,” she said, standing just outside Journey Church, where the Calgary Homeless Foundation and City of Calgary are now funding a year-round daytime drop-in space.
Six months after her first visit, Richards says she now has a viewing for a new apartment scheduled and is ready to move on.
“I was in a rough spot. I was pretty much at my wits’ end, the end of my rope. But [staff and volunteers here] are like sponsors and have helped me in so many ways,” she said.
“They helped me with grieving. … I’m excited to start up my cleaning business again. I’m just really happy to go back to normal life, because I know there is normal life [possible] now.”
Improving Calgary’s shelter system is a key part of the city’s safety strategy. Last year, its Downtown Safety Leadership Table found people don’t feel safe downtown because of aggressive behaviour and vandalism, which are often associated with people who are homeless, even though most of those people are more likely to be victims than offenders.
A Vibrant Communities Calgary study, last year, found the number of people struggling with addiction and homelessness also turns away would-be riders from public transit.
But a key reason why people without stable housing are in train stations is because they don’t have other welcoming places to be. Calgary’s shelters are often closed during the day, or people avoid them for fear they’ll be assaulted or robbed inside.
The drop-in shelter at Journey Church is a pioneer. It’s beside the Tuscany train station and has been operating as a winter warming shelter for three years. With its new funding, the shelter can now operate all year from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The shelter offers food, mats to sleep on, clean clothes, a TV to watch, and access to volunteers and staff with several service agencies to help people get off the street.
It was pretty quiet when a team from CBC News dropped by recently. About a dozen people were sitting at tables, sorting through clothes or sleeping on gym mats.
Jacob Schenker, manager of the Distress Centre’s Coordinated Entry program, says Journey Church’s suburban location gets about 45 visitors per day.
“We’re in a bit of a transition phase, but we’re excited that we’re able to continue operating,” Schenker said. “After folks have settled in, we like to engage with them, see where they’re at in terms of what they might need for resourcing — when was the last time they were housed, where are they sleeping?
“It’s a walk-in resource centre where we have a number of different resources available, all with a focus on housing.”
Calgary residents don’t have to be homeless to stop in. If someone has an eviction letter or a similar housing concern, they can meet with a team at the shelter and hopefully never end up on the street.
Neighbours raising concerns around increased random camping and theft is a common issue shelter services can face in suburban or residential areas, and the Journey Church drop-in space was no different. In Rocky Ridge, neighbours contacted the city with complaints when the shelter service started and packed a town hall to voice their concerns.
Since then, Schenker said they’ve added a staff member to stay for half an hour after closing and walk the streets around the building to ensure everyone is being respectful.
The shelter’s funding will allow the partners to operate year-round for two years, said Bo Masterson, vice-president with the Calgary Homeless Foundation.
“The idea is we learn and we grow through those two years and look at what else is needed. … Where else in the city is this needed?” said Masterson.
At the shelter, CBC News asked each person who was awake if they would like to share their thoughts on the space.
Kevin Arthur kicked his shoes off and put his feet up on a plastic chair. He’s been in Calgary 25 years, and had his first brush with homelessness 10 years ago when the Mustard Seed and Drop-In Centre were the only options. But the Journey Church’s drop-in shelter has always felt more welcoming, he said.
“I’ve never experienced this in the city,” Arthur said. “You come and just get to be yourself without all this bullshit, and it’s great. It’s something the city needs.”
Michelle Auger picked up something to drink, then sorted through a rack of clothes. She’s in a period of relapse in her drug addiction and she said she comes here to sleep because she’s terrified to close her eyes anywhere else at night.
“You don’t know if you’re going to get robbed, or someone’s going to come and just start kicking you in the head,” Auger said.
Auger said she’s a mother of five, a grandmother and someone who has achieved her dreams.
While seeking treatment in 2020, she was inspired by one of the counselors, a man who had been an alcoholic and was now helping others recover.
“I finished the program and luckily I was able to find my higher power. I was sober for three and a half years and I went back to college. I got a diploma in addictions and community services, then I got a job as a frontline crisis worker at the homeless shelter in Peace River,” Auger said.
“That was the goal, to become one of those people who helped others and I did it,” Auger continued. “I feel like even people that don’t have addiction aren’t able to say that they accomplished their life goal.”
Auger is on the street after a relapse, but she hangs on to that story of hope.
“There’s so much relapse,” she said. “It’s part of it and sadly, it’s a necessary part, you know? But I still don’t like it. Because when I relapse I do it for a long time.”
Other work is also underway to improve Calgary’s shelter system.
The Drop-In Centre recently opened a smaller, quieter shelter space for couples and all genders beside its existing shelter downtown. President Sandra Clarkson said people who use that space have access to double the storage lockers for their belongings, in an attempt to address theft.
The Mustard Seed recently received two-year operating funding to run a daytime shelter similar to the Journey Church drop-in, but downtown. It plans to renovate both the main floor and second floor to create space for showers, laundry and programs with other agencies to offer activities.
“As we get to know the new folks that might be coming in, we’ll be designing programming. We want to make it a welcoming place,” said Mustard Seed CEO James Gardiner.
But the renovations are not yet fully funded. The Mustard Seed has half of the $2.8 million budget covered with a grant from the province, the federal government and donations. Gardiner said they’ll launch a new fundraising campaign soon to cover the rest.
Kay Choi, the City of Calgary’s corporate lead for safety, said the city knows it has more work to do to ensure residents feel safe downtown and on transit.
They’ve already increased transit security and cracked down on loitering. The new move to create welcoming day shelters is the other piece of the puzzle, she said, to improve the wellbeing of people who are struggling and give them welcoming alternatives.
In turn, Choi believes that should improve the general public’s feeling of safety in public spaces.
“We’ve seen such an increase when it comes to mental health and addictions,” Choi said. “And it takes one interaction with somebody who is unwell that makes us feel uncomfortable and has an impact on the perceptions of safety.”
“It’s one step closer to a safer Calgary. And in all honesty, it’s the right thing to do.”
