New Nanaimo drop-in hub helping, residents concerned with ‘disturbing and traumatic behaviors’

Wood added roughly a third of the visitors to the hub were Indigenous, representing a much higher proportion compared to other area services.

A large number of housing applications have been processed through the site, Wood stated, with those people going on wait lists for upwards of 160 more supportive housing beds due to be available in the coming months.

However, a growing list of safety concerns from nearby residents and travellers through the downtown core is complicating the facility’s future.

“Residents and businesses in the area have reported open drug use, disturbing and traumatic behaviors, individuals being victimized, criminal activity and social disorders such as debris, human waste and drug paraphernalia,” Wood said.

She noted “anecdotal reports” suggested some reductions in this behaviour throughout the downtown since the start of the year, but higher reports are now coming from Nicol St., specifically around the hub’s entrance.

An increase in spillover effects since the hub opened have also been noticed on Finlayson St., alleyways off Nicol St. and a vacant lot by the heritage Fire House.

In addition, several traffic-related concerns have been reported including people wandering onto the highway and loitering outside the building.

Wood admitted the challenges were “complex and multifaceted”, and strategies to mitigate them locally “don’t address the root causes of mental health and substance use issues”.

Multiple people can be seen outside the Nicol St. entrance to the facility, which does valuable work in connecting people to healthcare and housing supports, but has also had its challenges with social disorder. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Supervising community safety officer Barry Hornby said he and his team will spend between two and three hours a day in and around the hub during a 10 hour shift.

First calls typically come in around 9 a.m. from staff on-site, ranging from unruly behaviour and loitering, to open drug use.

“One of the challenges we see is with the change in the drugs that it’s extremely hard to get people to move. The [benzodiazepines] in drugs right now are making people pretty much unconscious, where we’re having to activate 911, for overdoses or people that can’t manage themselves.”

While drugs are banned inside the hub, Hornby said many who use will do so on the sidewalk in front, which is public property.

Part of Wednesday’s discussion was about forwarding recommendations from the committee, to City staff, in a bid to reduce or eliminate the challenges stemming from around the vital service.

Two major ones emerged: safety of those on the sidewalk alongside a highway, and a concentration of these types of services in downtown Nanaimo.

Committee member Collen Middleton, a local area resident, called the area a “vacuum”, suggesting too many services of this nature are offered within a finite radius.

“We’ve essentially created a black hole of human suffering in downtown Nanaimo and south end and the people that live in the neighbourhoods are essentially on the event horizon. People are being traumatized just by living around it.”

He cited letters sent to Mayor and Council from nearby residents, outlining the challenges they’re experiencing as a result of people lingering in the area.

“The number of violent incidents that people are just witnessing are traumatizing people, the whole situation is just traumatizing the entire city. Nobody wants it in their backyard for a damn good reason, because it doesn’t belong in anybody’s backyard.”

Supporters of a centralized approach to service delivery say those needing the most help aren’t capable of taking transit or getting themselves to other areas of Nanaimo, or other communities.

Regarding traffic, committee member Ruth Taylor speculated a better congregation spot could be neighbouring parking lots on Victoria Rd., instead of alongside the Trans-Canada Hwy. on Nicol St.

Taylor is concerned about a major traffic incident resulting from someone running across the road to or from the hub.

“The average person driving down Nicol St. is now worried about swerving around debris and people running into the street. I have driven by people who are passed out on the sidewalk and their heads are inches from large vehicles. It is extremely dangerous, and it didn’t have to be this way.”

In addition to addressing the concentration of similar services in the downtown core, and traffic concerns along Nicol St., the committee also recommended more be done to review and enforce Good Neighbour Agreements between site operators and nearby residents.

The agreements are supposed to outline how site operators will function without negative consequences to the immediate area, however one committee member stated “55 Victoria Rd. is not being a good neighbour”.

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by Alex Rawnsley

New Nanaimo drop-in hub helping, residents concerned with ‘disturbing and traumatic behaviors’

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