Officials keep facing hurdles re-establishing Nanaimo Hub

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Construction crews continue work at Island Health’s building at 250 Albert St., which had been pitched as a potential suitable new home for The Hub. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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The Hub, which operated for over a year at 55 Victoria Rd., served as a daytime social services centre and 20-bed overnight winter shelter.

A federal, provincial and City of Nanaimo funding agreement pooled money to support the service between early 2025 until the end of March.

Saying he was “not surprised” to hear Island Health formally withdraw its 250 Albert St. property, the City’s public safety manager noted the stance was entirely consistent with what Island Health relayed months earlier.

Dave LaBerge said their real estate teams, in conjunction with The Hub operators, has researched dozens of commercial properties throughout the city over the last several months.

He said finding a low-barrier, properly sized and located facility reasonably close to complementary social and health services has been challenging.

“We have to look at whether these properties require leasehold improvements, because they can be significant, and most notably we’re finding there’s often a lot of limited willingness among property owners to lease space for this kind of use,” LaBerge said.

Other factors include how the next potential location would blend into its neighbourhood.

Significant concerns were voiced from local residents in reference to multiple negative social disorder related impacts due to the 55 Victoria Rd. service.

A spike in calls to the RCMP and Community Safety Officers in the area of 55 Victoria Rd. raised safety worries and requests to spread out an abundance of social services in the immediate area.

Despite the wide net cast to find potential suitable locations, LaBerge said they are “very limited” by what has materialized so far.

Operators Nanaimo Family Life Association and Island Crisis Care Society are actively attempting to help find a new home for The Hub as well, LaBerge stated.

“Ultimately, if we find something that we think might work, we’ll take it. We’ll have to go back to Council and discuss it and I’d imagine there will be broader considerations on potential neighbourhood impacts.”

Additional funding allocated by Nanaimo City Council would be required to operate the service moving forward, LaBerge said.

He said some of the people who accessed the daytime offering in fact weren’t unhoused, but lived in the local area and benefitted from social and staff connections.

Christy Wood, the City’s social development manager, reported an average of over 80 people accessed daytime services at The Hub between its daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. operating hours.

Those averages swelled to an average of 130 to 140 people during inclement summer and winter weather events.

Nearly 400 different people used the overnight shelter at the Hub, according to Wood.

She stated more than 1,600 overnight “shelter turnaways” were recorded, underscoring a notable capacity crunch.

According to Wood, a list of 170 unhoused people had been assembled last summer, primarily due to The Hub, resulting in 54 people being referred to housing options.

“That was a really important piece that they had provided,” LaBerge emphasized in reference to tapping into temporary housing offerings for clients of The Hub.

Regarded as a valued, first-of-its kind venue in Nanaimo for Island Health outreach teams, BC Housing staff and other social services providers for health care, a range of social supports and a centralized location for housing registry uptakes.

LaBerge concluded there has been a noticeable displacement of unhoused people since The Hub’s recent closure, including most prominently around Nanaimo City Hall, as well as Diana Krall Plaza, downtown storefronts and Bowen Park.

Re-establishing a daily daytime drop-in centre for the homeless remains a priority of the City of Nanaimo and multiple other partners.

A statement to NanaimoNewsNOW from BC Housing outlined its commitment to again funding an overnight winter shelter, should The Hub re-open.

“BC Housing plans to provide operating funding for an overnight shelter if and when a new location is found and BC Housing staff have been part of a City-led working group seeking an alternate location for The Hub.”

Nanaimo’s homeless community is feeling the loss of The Hub.

Tom Sheffield, 60, took advantage of the daytime drop-in services numerous times where he’d often have lunch and coffee.

He appreciated receiving much-needed clothing and other essentials to make living rough on the street a little easier.

Sheffield said a reduction in food availability has been felt by many people.

“It’s hard if they don’t have any supports, especially for food-wise, a lot people are just going nuts because they got no food, they’re screaming, we don’t need that here, it’s just going to make things worse.”

Sheffield said a severe lack of non-winter shelter beds is also a significant problem in Nanaimo.

A combination of no daytime resource centre and a lack of overnight shelter availability will lead to bad outcomes, according to Sheffield.

“Look at the library, the library’s got people staying down there sleeping left, right and centre making a mess. It’s crazy, I just had my tent and sleeping bag stolen, it’s making it really rough for everybody.”

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