The proposed navigation centre would offer 60 shelter beds assigned to those living on the street. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

navigation centre

City of Nanaimo signals to province for a 60-bed supportive shelter

Sep 1, 2020 | 1:01 PM

NANAIMO — City council is throwing its weight behind a possible 60-bed supportive shelter in Nanaimo..

Councillors voted 7-2 on Monday, Aug. 31 to send a letter to the province expressing interest in a supportive shelter project known as a navigation centre.

Each of the 60 beds would be assigned to someone referred to the centre, who’d be able to stay in a stable environment until longer-term housing is secured. The province announced $1.5 million in funding for three years

Coun. Zeni Maartman said there’s still many unknowns with the project but it didn’t hurt to express interest.

“At least we should be exploring what opportunities can come our way. This is about housing those people who are hardest to house.”

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A City staff report noted a supportive shelter would follow the model already used at the Samaritan House shelter which has helped women on the street and fleeing violence for years.

“The impact of the centre will be more comparable with that of a supportive housing development…rather than a more typical overnight homeless shelter,” the report said.

The City currently has two overnight shelters offering up to 50 beds.

Coun. Ian Thorpe voted against sending the letter, saying the City is already at capacity for what new supportive housing it can handle.

“I’m sensing our city is sort of at a supportive housing fatigue. We have enough challenges facing us to get the proposed buildings up and running and satisfying the concerns of the neighbourhoods where they’re located.”

Coun. Don Bonner replied by saying Nanaimo is instead suffering from fatigue of the core issues the housing works to address.

“Our empathy in our city is waning because we have people who are homeless and we don’t know where they are (or) what they’re doing. This will give us an opportunity to put 60 more people into a place where they can at least get some sort of service.”

The letter to be sent by mayor Leonard Krog to the province is the latest effort to bring provincial projects to Nanaimo.

A letter was sent urging the province to consider Nanaimo at a site for a safe supply pilot project, as well as bringing a Foundry BC centre to help the most vulnerable and also to create a tertiary hospital at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, all to no success.

The province said it intends to open a navigator centre on Vancouver Island but no timelines for decisions are in place.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt