On March 29, Red Deer’s City Council gave Safe Harbour Society a 2-month notification to find a new location outside of the city's downtown by May 31. 

Currently, there are no areas zoned in the city for this type of service and that process generally takes 6 weeks which would give Safe Harbour 2 weeks in reality. The City council has instructed their administration team to provide them with a broad list of possible locations by the end of April.

If Safe Harbour can’t find another location for their shelter program:

• There will be 100 to 120 people a day on average downtown with nowhere else to be and 50 people on average every night who won’t have a safe place to sleep.
• The neighborhood will lose the 24hour 2 member Paladin security team who have kept the neighborhood safer for the past twelve months.
• There will be an increased demand on our critical RCMP and EMS services
• There will be no bathrooms in the area.
• There will be nowhere for concerned citizens to refer people to whom they see in distress.
• There will be no harbor of safety for the people on the street who are in danger or fleeing a violent situation and we can’t reassure families that their loved ones are being watched over and connected to resources and medical support.

I strongly support Safe Harbour's shelter program staying in its current (temporary) location until a permanent location is ready. 

• Moving into a possible new location would be a bandage as it is temporary again.
• Additional new (not accounted) funds would be required to retrofit a possible temporary location. Additional cost for moving and expected interruption of services to Safe Harbour’s clients.
• Additional funds for the required bussing/ transportation program (including security personal and vehicle cleaning services) from the temporary out-of-city core location to other social service providers that are mainly located in the downtown area.
• Due to the nature of Safe Habour's clientele, there is a need to be close to the Overdose Prevention Site, also the need to be close to other service providers
• The current site has already been retrofitted with the amount of $140,000.
• RCMP presence is enhanced in the downtown to help with shelter crowd
• It is an absurdity of moving the shelter program in the middle of a pandemic and opioid poisoning crisis – on top the current spike in recent Covid virus outbreaks.
• Moving into a new - again temporary - site means additional funds need to be located for outfitting the building to enable Safe Harbour to provide services for its client’s needs.
• A projected move to a new site that is suitable to support Safe Harbour’s shelter services causes unnecessary stress on this organization and uncertainty of job security for their staff.
• The current pandemic already puts Safe Harbour's staff's daily work on heightened alertness and stress.

The Landlord is willing to keep Safe Harbour Society in the current space.

The current Safe Harbour program:

• Welcomes 100 - 120 people per day on average for drop-in services. If they are unsuccessful in finding another location the drop-in service will no longer exist
• On average every day 15 to 20 people utilize the day sleep program. If they are unsuccessful in their attempts to find a new location this program will no longer exist
• Every night the shelter offers overnight sleep to 50 to 60 people. If Safe Harbour is unsuccessful in its attempt, they may be able to accommodate 8-10 people in their main building
• The main building has a space that was converted to a detox isolation space during COVID. Safe Harbour would have to send those people to the hospital for that care in order to use the space to shelter 8 to 10people.

For the past 19 years, Safe Harbour Society has been helping to build a safe and healthy community. Help us with your voice to keep Safe Harbour's Shelter Program temporarily in its current Location at Cannery Row/ Red Deer.

Please sign the form, share this petition with your family, friends, colleagues, and community!

Thank you from my heart for your support!