A request by the Kuu-us Crisis Line Society to use city property for its outreach program has been denied by city council.
In a letter to council, Kuu-us homeless coordinator Petra Barnfield asked council’s permission to use Echo Field House, Echo Centre or Glenwood Centre one night per week for their weekend outreach program.
“We understand that people are hungry and have needs that are not just Monday to Friday during business hours,” Barnfield wrote.
“Saturday evenings we give out food hampers, clothing, household items and educational material.”
Specifically, Barnfield requested Saturday from 6–7:30 p.m., where program patrons have light refreshments, food hampers, clothing and blankets available as well as guest speakers on various topics.
The program is all well and good but the society has other options to host it other than city property, Coun. Cindy Solda said.
The society has property and buildings at the former army cadet site on Johnston Road where they can host their program, Solda said.
“Their property is as large as Tim Hortons and they have a garage — there’s space.”
The society could also network with the Salvation Army and Bread of Life to use their spaces.
“Churches would open their doors for them,” Solda said. “They’d love to have them as part of their team.”
The society’s intake isn’t that often and council should be able to find something temporary for them, Coun. Wendy Kerr said. “Maybe a tent where homeless people could have a cup of tea and warm up for a half hour.
The society isn’t completely without resources, Solda said. The Vancouver Island Health Authority just gave the Alberni Clayoquot Regional District $300,000 for homeless initiatives. “They (Kuu-us) sit on the board with CSI,” Solda said.
The Community Stakeholders Initiative to End Homelessness (CSI) made recommendations about how the money was to be spent.
There may look like a lot of space at the armoury site but much of it is spoken for, Barnfield said.
The program is run outdoors at Great Canadian Video “rain or shine,” she added.
The society brings the program to users rather than drawing users to them.
Running the program out of the armoury presents a barrier to people who need the service. “It’s about helping people and not putting more barriers than they already have,” Barnfield said.
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