At a council meeting on Monday, the City of Duncan denied a Temporary Use Permit for an extreme weather shelter at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Herbert Street.
In July, the council deferred a decision on the permit to allow additional time to explore other locations and to address potential concerns. Now, with winter approaching, no alternative option has been presented. Lookout Housing and Health Society, the group seeking to operate the shelter, promised additional measures to protect the neighbourhood from issues that may arise related to the shelter. Most significantly, those seeking shelter would only be able to access the location by gathering at a muster point elsewhere and receiving transportation to and from the shelter location.
But many neighbours, including businesses and schools, expressed ongoing concern with the proposal, noting significant impacts to the neighbourhood when the church previously opened its doors to those in need.
“Really it’s been two years of trying to find a place, [and] we have one church, one small church, that has put their name forward, and that’s it,” said Mayor Michelle Staples, shortly before the vote. “To me, that is a tragedy. It is tragic that as a society we have fallen that far behind, that we’re not opening every church door, that we’re not opening every community centre door to make sure that there’s space for people in appropriate places.”
Staples commended Lookout for still trying to make it work, to take steps to mitigate impacts and address neighbours’ concerns.
“And I commend the church for standing strong,” she added. “When I grew up churches were the places that helped people that were the most vulnerable in our communities. That is what they did. That is how I was raised. And that is what our responsibility is as community members, is to take care of the most vulnerable even when it’s hard. And so to me, this is an obligation that we have.”
Staples insisted that her support for the proposal was contingent on the promise that people would only access the shelter through the provided transportation, and that she trusted that it would be implemented.
“I know that this isn’t fair to Cairnsmore neighbourhood. This isn’t fair to any of our neighbourhoods. This isn’t fair to any of our children. This isn’t fair to any of us and this is the reality that we find ourselves in.”
Staples and Coun. Jenni Capps voted in favour of the proposal. It’s unclear from the video recording how the other councillors voted, but a majority voted against approving the permit.
The Cowichan Housing Association and other groups have issued an urgent call for help to find an extreme weather shelter space. Those with leads can email dianne.hinton@cowichanhousing.com.
