Vanier shelter report a sign Ottawa is 'going backwards,' critics say

Vanierresidents say they're disappointed by the revelation from their councillor that a draft report may suggest giving a controversial homeless shelter on Montreal Road the go-ahead.

"It seems that not all the voices or the comments of the residents have been taken into consideration," said Suzanne Lepine, one of a few dozen people who attended Saturday'spublic forum on the Salvation Army shelter project.

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The Salvation Army intendsto close its existing shelter on George Street in the ByWard Market and sell it to help pay for anew $50-million facility in Vanier, which would behome to counselling, job training and medical services.

Of the facility's 350 beds, 140 would be reserved for emergency stays, according to the proposal.

Coun. MathieuFleury, who represents the area, toldCBCNews on Friday that a draft city report expected to be made public in early November is recommendingthe project be greenlighted.

CBCNewshas not seen a copy of that report.

Shelter based on 'outdated' programs

"I'm shocked. That'sall I can say," said TimAubry, a University of Ottawa psychology professor who's beena strong proponent of the housing firstmodelof tacklinghomelessness. The programpairsindividuals with landlordsin the city, while also offeringcounsellingand other supports.

"I think [that draft report] is a reflection that Ottawa's goingbackwards That's one of the big problems with the Salvation Army project. It's based on, quite frankly, the delivery of outdated programs," Aubry said.

The housing first approach hasn't always worked seamlessly, as one landlord recently discovered after a tenant trashed one unit of his duplex which was alsolocated in Vanier.

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Aubry said those instances are rare and outweighed by extensive research showing thebenefits of a housing first approach.

Lepine, a lifelong Vanier resident who lives only a few blocks away from the proposed shelter, said she agreed.

"I think housingfirst is a model that the community ofVaniercould live with,"Lepinesaid. "People could be integrated. It's a good approach, versus the Salvation Army proposal."

Days of discussion

Three dates have then been set aside in November for the city's planning committee to consider the shelter's rezoning application.

The Salvation Army has said it wants to relocate to Vanier because that's where its clients are. Opposition, however, has been steady, and many at Saturday's forum vowed to bringtheir concerns to the planning committee debate.

[The city] treats the people of Vanier as an afterthought at best.- Paul Heinbecker

"I'm frustrated with the way the city is behaving. It treats the people of Vanier as an afterthought at best, and a place it can dump social problems at worst," said Vanier resident Paul Heinbecker.

"All you have to do is take one look at George Street, and the Salvation Army centre down there, and ask yourself whether you'd like that situation to be in your neighbourhood."

The NDP riding association, whichhosted Saturday's forum, will be making a submission to the planning committee, urging it to endorse "a more decentralized and small-scale approach."

The whole spectrum is often part of the solution.- NDP MPP France Glinas

"I know that the community right nowis facing a decision. This decision has been polarized. Noteverybodyagrees," said NickelBeltMPPFrance Glinas,the party's healthcritic, who also spoke at Saturday's forum.

Glinas said she understood theconflict at the heart of the Montreal Road shelter debate, having dealt with a similar issueover a "wet shelter" a facility that would hand out doctor-prescribed alcohol to residents dealing with addiction issues in Sudbury.

She refused to weigh in onthe Salvation Army's proposal, calling shelters an "integral part" of the strategy to fight homelessness, but also lauding the housing first approach.

Critiquing the projectwas best left to Vanier residents themselves, Glinas added.

"I would say the whole spectrum is often part of the solution," shesaid. "[But] it varies with every community."

The city's official shelter report is expected to be made public onNov. 7.