Safe Harbour Society is turning over operation of People’s Place to The Mustard Seed to better focus on those struggling with ongoing drug and alcohol issues.
For the past 20 years, Safe Harbour Society has been providing an overnight place to stay to homeless people who are sober at the shelter at 6002 54th Ave.
The shelter takes in up to 35 adults for most of the year, but room is made for 46 in winter. The Mustard Seed will take over operation of the People’s Place shelter in December.
Turning over People’s Place allows Safe Harbour Society to channel their energies into responding to the opioid crisis and to helping those facing addiction issues, said Hoffman.
“With all our recent developments in the community in the last couple of years, and the opioid crisis we’re going through, we know that we can kind of focus our energies on that group of people who are actively using and have no place to go,” said Hoffman.
“The opioid crisis our community is experiencing demands emergency shelter and health care supports.”
The society aims to enhance services, such as shelter support, medically supported detox, treatment referrals, housing, outreach and making connections with indigenous people.
Safe Harbour looks forward to improving what Hoffman described as a “Band-aid system on our shelter services.”
By working with the City of Red Deer, Alberta Health Services, housing services and other groups, Safe Harbour hopes to establish a specialized facility.
“That’s something we’ve been working on for a long time. The idea of a 24-hour shelter in Red Deer only makes sense.”
Hoffman said People’s Place will be in good hands with The Mustard Seed, which is located in the same building.
“When we first started operating People’s Place that was because there was no one in the community taking that on many years ago,” she said.
“Now that we have The Mustard Seed here and it’s their area of expertise it’s an opportunity for the community to take that project and work their magic on it, and for us to stay focused on those people who are actively using and without resources and supports right now.”
Hoffman said positions are available for the four-person team overseeing People’s Place so no one will be out of a job.
Byron Bradley, of The Mustard Seed, said they are looking forward to their new role.
“The overnight shelter will allow us to care for those experiencing poverty and homelessness at a deeper level,” said Bradley, managing director for Central Alberta.
“Our goal is to build on the great work Safe Harbour has been doing for so many years, and learn from the holistic and progressive approach at our 370-person shelter in Calgary.”
Safe Harbour will continue to operate the daytime warming shelter at its location at 5246 53rd Ave.
Given the early winter, council agreed to open the warming shelter — as well as 20 additional overnight mat beds — on Oct. 2, instead of Nov. 1, as in previous years.
Safe Harbour will also be able to keep running the warming shelter and additional beds to April 30, instead of April 1.