Rotary House Encampments

By Emily Keller

ROTARY HOUSE

Rotary House encampments come down, temporary transition site to be set up

Sep 3, 2019 | 5:20 PM

The tents at Rotary House have started to come down.

Various city departments along with external agencies are setting up a secure temporary transition site for those being moved from the Rotary House encampments, says Katherine Schmidt with the Housing and Homeless Initiative.

“What our plan is is that anyone that is there, and there are a few that perhaps have homes already or have housing options, they’re going to be redirected there. If there are individuals that can or should be using the shelter bed space, because there are beds available there, they will be redirected into shelter beds or other housing options. The ones that we find that don’t have other options will be redirected to this temporary site, and this temporary site is being set up for basically a three-week period.”

She says it is going to be set up as soon as possible, and that by week three they will begin to transition people out of the temporary site and have the site dismantled by September 30.

Some tents have been set up in a fenced-in area behind the former Grande Prairie Care Centre.She also says the city is seeking to address the underlying causes that initially led to this issue.

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Schmidt says there has been ongoing discussion between those at the Rotary House encampments and the city, and that they agree with being moved to a secure site where they are able to connect the individuals from the previous encampment with resources and support to help them.

With summer coming to an end, Schmidt says what they are doing is focusing on moving towards their Winter Emergency Response Plan.

“Winter is right around the corner and we do not want to see anyone outside this winter that doesn’t have a support or a resource.”

Last year, Rotary House was over-capacity. Already this year, Schmidt says they have put out a request for applications for a second site to ensure they will have room.

A main catalyst to the temporary site being set up was the growth of the encampment and the potential safety risks posed to both those living in the encampment and to other Grande Prairie residents.

Along with the temporary transition site, Rotary House will be opening a day drop-in program as of Wednesday says Schmidt.

“Individuals in the transition site will be encouraged to use the day drop-in program, to use the Rotary House mat program in the evenings, in particular as we start getting into colder weather. And then meanwhile, we’re going to continue to work as the city on long-term having a permanent building for permanent long-term programming.”