City officials scrambling to add showers and laundry facilities at COVID-19 drop-in centre

More showers and laundry facilities are needed at Edmonton'sEXPO Centre, according to people using the centre for medical assistance and shelter.

Ron Ramsay arrived at the EXPO Centre last Monday after he showed symptoms of COVID-19. Upon arriving he was soon tested for COVID-19, but the results came back negative on Tuesday, as Ramsay instead found he had a bacterial infection.

Ramsay said he appreciates the medical help he received, but that it's been more than a week since he's been able to take a shower.

"There's just no showers for anybody. We've been told every day that we're going to get them, but it just hasn't happened," Ramsay said.

Shower shortage

The City of Edmonton acknowledged the centre'samenities need to be improvedas usage steadily increases.

The EXPO Centre has been used as a day drop-in centre and isolation shelter since last week to meet the needs of Edmonton's vulnerable populations and ease pressures on social agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, 482 people used the day drop-in centre and 71 used the isolation area, city spokesperson Ashish Mohan said Wednesday.

• EXPO Centre opens to Edmonton's homeless during pandemic

The showers were temporarily unavailable on Tuesday because of a hot water problem, Mohan said. But shower and laundry services have otherwise been available in both the EXPO Centre's drop in and isolation areas.

Currently, there are four shower units available in the day drop-in centre and eight units in the isolation centre. There are six laundry units (washers and dryers) in the drop-in centre and the isolation centre, respectively.

In the next two weeks, the city says 18 more shower units are scheduled to be delivered and set up. The distribution of those showersbetween thedrop-in and isolation sections will reflect the number of people using each side.

Additional laundry services have also been ordered and should be delivered in the next two weeks, as well.

"They're doing the best that they can, I'm not trying to condemn anyone," Ramsay said.

'Logistical issues'

The day drop-in service, available for those without access to housing,is open from 8 a.m. until8 p.m daily. It offers storagefor belongings, food, showers, and cultural and peer support.

Meanwhile, the isolation shelteris open around the clock and available for those experiencing homelessness who may have been exposed to COVID-19 or are showingsymptoms. The area allows them to recover whileprotecting others through self-isolation.

"There have been a myriad of operational and logistical issues to sort out," said Jackie Liu, director of operations at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre. Liusaidthe delay has come from gettingadditional portable showers assembled and working properly.

"What we're trying to work with is to get folks to try and use them in a somewhat orderly fashion so that everyone can have access to those services."

Cash donations only

Another challenge social agencies face isgetting help to those who don't necessarily want it.

A segment of the city's homeless population live outdoors in tents throughout the city, sometimes with multiple people sleeping together.

Normally, agencies like Boyle Street Community Services try to deter the practice by offering donated tents andsleeping bags. But because of COVID-19 health concerns, Boyle Street officials say they're no longer collecting material donations.

Instead they're asking for cash donations to purchase clothing and tents as needed.