Neighbors of new Chatham emergency shelter site say council approved relocation ‘without input’ from community

Dozens of people living in Chatham say they are not happy with how councillors came to a decision to move an emergency homeless shelter into their neighbourhood.

On Monday, Chatham-Kent council approved moving the municipality’s emergency shelter program, which currently operates out of the Travelodge on Bloomfield Road, to the former Victoria Park Public School building at 185 Murray Street.

But the move has drawn the ire of dozens of area residents — not just because the shelter would move into their neighbourhood — but also because of council’s "swiftness" in making that decision "without input" from the community, according to a letter sent to the municipality on Mar. 24 and signed by multiple residents.

Council moved ahead with the relocation despite almost two-dozen people who live in the Murray Street area expressing their displeasure with the move during Monday’s meeting. Among them is Jeff Piche.

"I feel there's a lack of communication. Also, I feel that our neighborhood was not consulted," said Jeff Piche who lives just blocks from the approved location of the emergency shelter.

Jeff Piche says he's not sure how a homeless shelter can operate in a residential neighbourhood. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News)

Among the issues he has with the new location — which are also cited in the Mar. 24 letter — is its proximity to a nearby daycare, school and retirement home.

"The other issue is I'm not sure how a homeless shelter will work for the homeless in a residential area," Piche added.

According to Piche, residents learned of the planned move through media reports published on Mar. 18. Council would approve the decision just three days later.

"When things aren't being transparent … we're worried," Piche said.

For husband-and-wife Paul Bourdeau and Charlene Wranich, they believe an emergency shelter for the homeless is not appropriate for a residential neighbourhood. But their main issue, Bourdeau said, is the process by which council made their decision.

"Who's going to be accessing the facility? Is it going to be sufficient for the needs of the people? I don't even think any of the residents or clients who might be using this facility have been contacted to hear what they want," said Bourdeau.

"Who are the investors and what agreements have they entered into with the [municipality]? What assurances of support … will be here? Take increased police patrol and better lighting for the streets as example."

Charlene Wranich and Paul Bourdeau say their displeasure with how council approved the new site of their emergency shelter program is 'not a N.I.M.B.Y. issue.' (Sanjay Maru/CTV News)

During their Mar. 21 meeting, councillors mentioned some people may be quick to judge those who use the emergency shelter. But according to Bourdeau, that’s not the main issue on neighbours’ minds.

"It's not a N.I.M.B.Y. issue. The municipality has decided to do something that's very important and act without community involvement to a point where there could be all kinds of other situations where council will follow through and do the same thing," he said.

Wranich, who has lived in the area with her husband for about six years, said she plans on publishing an online petition to push for a reversal of Chatham-Kent council’s decision.

"It's basically saying that Chatham-Kent’s mayor and council must guarantee relevant community engagement prior to final municipal decision making to ensure the voices of citizens are incorporated," she said.

During Monday’s vote, Coun. Michael Bondy asked to defer the motion pending consultation from the public — but that was denied, with administration citing that all other options were no longer on the table.

At the end of May, the municipality’s lease with the Travelodge will expire.

For that reason among other, Coun. Brock McGregor said “a decision had to be made quickly” to “avoid moving people out onto the street or into encampments.”

"It's been a really difficult situation over the past number of years as homelessness has increased in our community," said McGregor. "Each month, we've been dealing with capacity issues and now, unfortunately, we have to vacate the current premises used as an emergency shelter."

"There's not enough motel rooms to put people into and space is becoming a challenge. The new area that's identified can meet the current need."

Meanwhile, Chatham-Kent’s director of employment and social services Polly Smith said the letter issued to councillors on March 24 has a lot of misinformation.

A portion of the letter reads: "Several years ago, Council considered a proposal to locate a homeless shelter on Merritt Ave., in close proximity to a public school. The community was not supportive and council did not move forward with this plan."

But according to Smith, that’s not an accurate portrayal of what happened.

"The building on Merritt never went to council because we couldn’t get a lease agreement in time for the move out of the Bradley Centre," she said, referencing the convention centre where the shelter operated in the early days of the pandemic.

"We went to Travelodge because we could get the in, before having to leave the Bradley Centre. I spoke with the principal and she had no issue with the shelter going there."

The letter also makes reference to a more recent recommendation to relocate the shelter to Hope Haven on Wellington Street in downtown Chatham, adding many business owners in the core opposed the location “citing existing issues of vandalism, break-ins, drug use and assault with homeless people.”

But for Smith, the choice to move the shelter to Murray Street was "not because of opposition downtown."

"We changed course to move to Murray after a building we couldn’t previously afford was offered to us. It’s bigger and allows us to help more people and provide services on site. That’s why we chose it."

As for next steps, Coun. McGregor said Chatham-Kent will now enter a lease agreement to access the Murray Street location. Meanwhile, the municipality will host two information sessions where the public can speak with officials directly about the new shelter site.

The forums will be held at Studio One at the Chatham Cultural Centre on Tuesday, Mar. 29 and Wednesday, Apr. 6. Both will run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.