Homeless Navigation Centre

I’ve been a part of Naked Café for about 15 years.  It’s a unique place that’s been welcoming anyone for about 30 years.  I wanted to make a post about what’s currently happening at our venue.

I don’t know how the city or province can help address homelessness.  It’s a huge and complicated issue, and requires work by a lot of people smarter than me.

The UCP had a big challenge trying to look like they’re doing something.

They decided to make a “Homeless Navigation Centre” in downtown, that would help those experiencing homelessness be able to access services, food, housing etc.

They took over the building right beside Naked, on 103 ave and 107 st where AADAC used to be.  (Wonder where they went?  website doesn’t even work any more)

They gave Hope Mission 25 or 30 million dollars to run it.  Hope Mission is a great social organization, that serves food to so many.  They’re an excellent soup kitchen.  Are they the most sophisticated logistics and strategic social solutions organization?  Not really.  But they’re excellent at what they do, and are a vital resource.  Not perhaps the best choice for this though.  We don’t see them often except when they’re having a cigarette on the stoop across the alley of Naked.  Watching their clients camp and do drugs on our wheelchair ramp.  A couple of them did, however ask Bob “what’s happening” when he was chasing a couple of their clients who had broken into the building’s administration office, out of the building.

As a result, Naked, the historic office building / warehouse we are located in (Western Supplies Building), and some other businesses (like the struggling daycare) are facing extra challenges.

Buses bring homeless people down to Naked and drop them off at the “Navigation Centre” where they get food and then come out setting up camp on Naked’s front porch (preventing customers from coming in) often doing drugs there, and on several occasions even building a small campfire.

Naked has had to lock the front doors for several months now, physically letting customers in, who want to have lunch or a coffee.  The porch is cleared a few times each day, asking people to move on, then cleaning up the refuse that’s been left.

At the bottom of the wheelchair ramp though, (between the Nav Centre and Naked) there are almost always people sitting there shooting up and blocking the ramp.  In fact, staff of Hope Mission are often on their back door “stoop” having cigarettes and watching.

Bob’s Experiences

Bob from Naked has always been an advocate for the homeless, and worked on the issue from his time in inner city organizations in the 70‘s.  He often talks with them, and many have said (particularly recently) that they get dropped off, many not totally trusting the organization, so get food and come back out.

Recently they have reported that they can’t even get IN.  5 – 7 hour waits, with a couple he knows mentioning they were told to “come back Monday”.

The daycare operator is close to having to make a decision about her business.  How many customers want to drop their 4 year old child off when they have to step over someone doing drugs in front of her front door?

At one point, when a police car was bringing someone to the centre, it was pointed out to the officer that the person on the ramp was actively doing drugs in public “right there” and pointed to.  The officer suggested we “call the police”.

Keeping tenants in downtown Edmonton is challenging enough, but with homeless people set up in all the doors to the building, they are starting to leave, as their clients aren’t going to try to push through in order to enter the building.  The law office and a psychologist have been the latest one to leave.

I guess I’m writing this, because clearly the UCP’s idea is not working.  It IS however destroying small local businesses that are having a challenging enough time.

I have no idea how to “fix” it, but I do know that hastily manufacturing a “centre”, so it looks like you’re doing something – staffing it with the wrong people (great people just not right for a complicated job like that) with no regard for small businesses right beside isn’t solving anything.

A couple of days ago, Bob (while keeping an eye on the office building as well, as a courtesy to the woman who runs the building) interrupted a couple of the homeless guys on the 2^nd floor, having broken the windows of the admin office and removing computers and other items.  They brandished a knife and baseball bat and threatened him.

For Friends of Naked

I guess my reason for writing this (other than just venting), is so that those in the “Naked family” for decades, and those new young local artists feel free to drop by and if the door is locked, knock and we’ll let you in.

It’s a big challenge, and we’d appreciate your patience for the next while.