MOOSE JAW — During the public meeting on July 29, city council opened a forum for concerned residents to speak their minds for five minutes on the topic of safety in downtown Moose Jaw.
This article is part of a three-part series and focuses on the perspective of concerned business owners, residents, and the perspective of citizens who support the aims of the shelter but recommend a location outside of the downtown core.
Cynthia Watson is the owner of Sole Connection Therapeutic & Prenatal Massage.
“For 15 years I’ve been a massage therapist…,” Watson said. “But (in) the past five years it has become… a death by a thousand cuts.
“(W)hile renovating for two years at 1011 Main (Street North), we were robbed 37 times. Teams of petty thieves have cased (targeted for future burglary) our houses by walking up the front street and down the alley.
“Down the alley there’s a band of bicycle thieves,” she added.
During the pandemic, Watson was able to keep her business afloat by offering her business space as an Airbnb. She said the venture was successful — except for a number of unexpected interruptions which resulted in her decision to close the Airbnb two years later.
When a neighboring care home had to close its doors, the property became an unofficial sober living facility with five to seven residents.
“Suddenly there was more action in the back alley than I had (ever) seen,” she said.
Among the incidents she reported were thieves routinely sorting stolen goods in the driveway, a naked man running out of a second floor doorway, a man yelling for two days non-stop because his medication wore off, and during the night trespassers routinely tap on her windows.
“I got paintballed trying to rescue someone’s bike,” she added.
“I just wanted to shield my guests from the carnage of someone else’s bad choices,” she explained. “(My guests) came to visit and their cars (got) vandalized… And every time someone cancels, you’re penalized (as the Airbnb owner).
“And if what I had observed with an unofficial, sober living facility next to my property is indicative of what would happen with a mission downtown next to our tourist centres that we’ve spent two decades creating, then we are in trouble,” she warned.
She said the key to healing is to get away from the downtown urban hustle, including the bars and peer groups that keep individuals locked in a negative lifestyle.
Another resident, Sandi Nixon, shared her banking experiences at a downtown ATM (she did not specify if this was the Bank of Montreal or at another location).
“I’ve been accosted twice,” Nixon said. “One was a fairly large man, and I gave him $5 — rather than the $20 he had demanded,” she recalled. “The second time (that I was accosted) it was (by) three of them…”
She said a woman approached her during the second incident and similarly demanded $20, all while a male was seen observing just out of plain view.
“As I was speaking to her, I could see another man running across from the mission. On that note, I got into my car, locked the doors… and the three of them were giving me that friendly one-finger wave.”
She noted that her ATM is secluded and said certain homeless individuals lurk in the area once the banks close.
“The bank has to be locked as there have been previous issues with the homeless making a mess inside. It’s unnerving to be accosted… I don’t know if they have weapons or not.”
Norma Lafonte said she’s sympathetic to the need to address homelessness and addictions, and suggested that the shelter should be close to downtown, but not within the core itself.
“We care about our city’s future, otherwise we wouldn’t be here,” she said. “Talking with business owners and residents downtown and listening to their stories have only made it more obvious to me that we are at a crossroads in our city.
“As I was walking my dog early yesterday morning, I noticed every garbage can and recycling bin in the three blocks I walked had been gone through (during) the night.
“Some may not see this as an issue,” she continued, “but the problem is the absolutely disgusting mess that was left behind… for the home and business owners to clean up. Where’s the accountability?
“The (residents) and business owners that work hard to keep their homes, yards, and businesses clean and beautiful to make our city look amazing don’t deserve to have to pick up a mess left behind by others,” she said.
Lafonte noted that Souls Harbour is moving from its original request to build a three-storey, 22,750 square foot building with 24 portable housing units, addiction services, and a job skills training program to a simplified 12 bed accommodation “and a dining room.”
“How many… currently on the streets will be allowed in the (new) shelter…? Many of them are actively using and do not meet the criteria for being able to access the services at the shelter,” she said.
She then pointed to similar shelter projects in Nanaimo, Lethbridge, Prince Albert, and Medicine Hat which she said have seemingly “made the problem worse by destroying the downtown of (these) cities.”
The solution, she suggested, is to focus on the creation of a wraparound recovery community and moving individuals in its care away from the pressures that could undo any positive advances made at the planned shelter.
