Nelson City Council voted on Nov. 7 to apply for a major federal government grant that a local organization hopes will address emergency treatment services, including harm reduction, and prevent overdose deaths in Nelson.
The city and the Nelson Committee on Homelessness (NCOH) will apply to Health Canada for $1,208,990 over two years for three projects: a drop-in centre to provide centralized supports and service; a public education program aimed at reducing stigma about poverty, addictions and homelessness; and an assessment of the need for a regional complex care housing project.
Health Canada's Emergency Treatment Fund will only take applications from municipalities, so the City of Nelson will be the applicant. If the application is successful, the program will be initiated and managed by NCOH, a program of Nelson CARES.
Cheryl Dowden and Amanda Ladner of NCOH outlined the proposal to council at its regular council meeting on Nov. 5. At a special meeting on Nov. 7 council voted to take on the application, one day before the Nov. 8 grant deadline.
Drop-in Centre
The proposed facility would include harm reduction services and supplies, treatment and detox referrals, food services, housing referrals, health care services, outreach nurses, street outreach, Indigenous cultural support, clothing and supplies, hygiene services including showers, computer and internet, warming and cooling, laundry, storage lockers, peer support, and "potentially" an inhalation site not necessarily at the same location.
Dowden presented stats from seven recent days of the operation of the Thursdays-only support hub at the Salvation Army over the past few months. She said the service had 429 clients including 32 for nursing and doctor support, 387 meals served, 72 accesses of the showers, 43 advocacy referrals, and 116 meal kits and other services.
"So you can see that this is well used by our vulnerable population," she said.
Dowden said the budget for the preparatory work, renovations, and management required for the proposed facility amounts to $277,590 before March 31, 2025, and $878,400 for the ensuing year, for a total of $1,155,990.
NCOH has not yet found a site for the facility. Dowden said a renovation of the location of the once-weekly drop-in centre at the Salvation Army is a possibility.
Councillor Kate Tait raised the issue of location and pointed out that compact nature of the city means the facility would be near either residences or businesses or both.
"Location is really, really going to matter," she said, referring to community conflicts over the past couple of years related to services for the unhoused population. "We know historically from the last year and a half how that's all played out, and moving forward, (we need to be) learning lessons from that."
Dowden responded by saying NCOH is determined to find a good location that is supported by the community.
"We need to engage in those conversations. You're definitely right. That's the road we want to walk."
Councillor Jesse Woodward expressed concerns about the short timeline for a decision on the grant.
"The gist of what this is trying to do is amazing," he said, "but the speed at which we're going to get it done scares me."
He said if the project did not work out, it would be "a bridge burned with our community."
City manager Kevin Cormack and Chris Johnson, the city's manager of community planning, both said that even though the project would be managed by NCOH, the city has oversight and could apply checks and balances if necessary.
A drop-In centre task force meets on the second Thursday of each month at St.Saviours Anglican Church at 9:00 a.m., open to anyone who wishes to be involved in the development and design of the drop-in centre.
Education campaign
The Inclusion and Dignity Eduction Campaign would be a multi-media program provided to the whole community, aimed at reducing stigma related to poverty, homelessness and addictions.
"We would engage and create unique messaging for the business and hospitality community, with their input," Dowden said.
The hoped-for result, she said, would be "greater community-wide support for, and understanding of, housing developments, drop-in centres and other supports for our vulnerable and marginalized population and we hope that our communities will come together as a region to prevent and eradicate homelessness."
The budget for the education program is $14,000 for 2024-25 and $24,000 for 2025-26, for a total of $38,000.
Regional complex care housing needs assessment
This assessment would look at the need for supportive housing In the West Kootenay, beyond shelters and temporary housing. Supportive housing recognizes the need for additional health, mental health, social, and other services to help people find and maintain housing.
"We need to understand what our model will look like, what the needs are, what the size of the population is that require complex housing, and then we need to be able to make our case to the province for funding," Dowden said. "And it may be multiple levels of funding that will be needed, but we need to do this work to get there."
Dowden said there has been progress already in Nelson with a variety of affordable housing projects planned or built, and that she is optimistic that "we could actually eradicate homelessness at Nelson. I think we're actually on the cusp of having some excellent solutions."
The proposed budget for the housing needs assessment is $65,000 during the 2025-26 year.
