The person spearheading opposition to Vancouver's Howe Street shelter believes homelessness trumps neighbourhood safety in the eyes of civic bureaucrats and that he has lost the fight to get the shelter shut down.
"It's a hopeless battle from our side; we are not going to win this," said Phil Earle of the Concerned Citizens of False Creek North, who lives close to the shelter, which remains open under a 30-day trial that ends next week.
But shelter supporters think otherwise.
"I think there is a really strong chance it's going to close," said Wendy Pedersen of Carnegie Community Action Project, an advocate for low-income individuals in the Downtown Eastside. Ms. Pedersen and other shelter supporters came together outside the shelter yesterday morning and said it is important to keep it open until new housing is built.
Nearby residents have complained about increased drug use, criminal activities and shelter users urinating and defecating in the open.
On Sunday, the city held two public meetings to hear both sides of the debate.
"We got a variety of feedbacks," said Jill Davidson, the city's assistant director of housing. While some residents want the shelter closed, Ms. Davidson said, others believe it contributes to the elimination of homelessness and want it to remain open.
The Concerned Citizens say they are not against ending homelessness; it is the criminal activities around the shelter that they oppose.
"It's quiet frightening," said John Roberts of the Concerned Citizens, who believes the city is letting nearby residents down by focusing on the needs of the homeless while failing to address the issue of safety around the shelter.
Ms. Pedersen said some of the neighbours' demands, like keeping toilets open during the day, have been met. She said further compromises can be worked out with shelter users, who had to deal with an unpleasant incident last week when someone threw a bag of human feces off the Granville Street Bridge into the alley in front of the shelter with an explicit note demanding that shelter users leave.
The mayor's Homeless Emergency Action Team opened two shelters on Howe Street and Granville Street, along with three others as interim solutions to get people off the streets during the cold weather.
The province shut down the Granville Street shelter on June 30 after neighbours complained of drug use and criminal activities around the shelter. The funding to run the HEAT shelters ran out on June 30, but the province agreed to fund the other three emergency shelters until next April and gave the city 30 days to resolve concerns of the neighbours around the Howe Street shelter.
Feedback from residents and business owners will determine if the 38-bed shelter will stay open beyond the 30-day trial, which ends July 31.
