Task force being formed to address homelessness in Charlottetown area
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CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A brand new activity drive on unhoused encampments within the capital area is below growth in Charlottetown.
Council voted 9-0 on June 12 to help the creation of an interjurisdictional response crew to handle tent encampments within the metropolis.
Whereas it’s too early to say who precisely will probably be concerned, the group of presidency and group members will attempt to be proactive about homelessness, stated Kevin Ramsay, chair of the protecting and emergency providers committee, in an interview after the assembly.
“It’s arduous to reply that proper now as a result of we’re nonetheless engaged on our phrases of reference. Our police and hearth and all people’s concerned and our higher administration right here at metropolis corridor, and what teams (exterior metropolis corridor) are going to be concerned, I can’t reply that.”
He went on to clarify the phrases of reference will probably be a framework outlining who’s on the crew and what their work will probably be.
Mayor Philip Brown hopes the crew will embrace the entire capital space, with Cornwall and Stratford. Brown has spoken to Stratford Mayor Steve Ogden, however to not Cornwall Mayor Minerva McCourt, he stated in a SaltWire interview after the assembly.
“Small communities are seeing the problems come up in their very own communities, and we’re seeing it all over the place.”
Background
The decision got here out of a Could 11 city-led discussion board on homelessness and associated dialogue on the June 6 assembly of the strategic priorities, communications and intergovernmental co-operation committee.
A June 5 employees report from the committee outlines takeaways from the discussion board and proposes the following steps to arrange the response crew and interact with unhoused folks. One of many subsequent steps entails having hearth and police chiefs co-lead the crew.
Requested about these roles, Brown stated he doesn’t need the 2 chiefs to be the one leads, however as a substitute embrace a wider group that entails social providers, the group organizations who participated within the mayor’s dialog and the emergency providers’ chiefs.
“(It) consists of volunteer teams that had been very useful throughout hurricane Fiona, that had been very useful throughout the entire tent encampment on the Charlottetown Occasion Grounds,” he stated. “There are people who need to assist out.”
One other report — included within the June 12 council bundle — provides additional suggestions and evaluation of the discussion board. One concept is establishing an official web site for tents, which might enable providers to work with web site customers to make sure hearth and different security wants are met, whereas additionally gathering info immediately from them.
Whereas Brown didn’t need to decide to specifics for the response crew earlier than growing phrases of reference, he stated a city-sanctioned web site is on the desk, but additionally repeated a number of instances the one actual response to homelessness is everlasting housing.
Town’s position in that is extra accessible zoning, inexpensive housing tax breaks and advocating different ranges of presidency for packages like social housing, funding partnerships and primary revenue, he stated.
Engagement
Brown held the mayor’s dialog on homelessness to fulfill with group “stakeholders,” which included native advocacy organizations comparable to BIPOC USHR, PEERS Alliance and Charlottetown Mutual Help, together with police, hearth and authorities departments.
Town didn’t invite unhoused Islanders however is as a substitute planning a second occasion to have interaction them. Brown didn’t have a date for this but.
Logan MacLean is a municipal reporter with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He will be reached by e mail at [email protected] and adopted on Twitter @loganmaclean94.
