Shelter given extension
2008.03.05 - 7:09 PM
Shelter given extension
calgary.ctv.ca
jsh
POSTED AT 12:06 PM Wednesday, March 5
City council has decided to give a one-year extension to a temporary homeless shelter in the city’s southeast.
The Mustard Seed is currently operating the shelter near 44th Street S.E. in the Foothills Industrial park.
Wednesday morning's decision means the organization can now start moving its emergency shelter, food and clothing services out of the downtown and into the industrial facility.
But not all the services for the Mustard Seed will be moving.
The Seed’s employment and rehabilitation programs will stay downtown.
Officials say only the drop-in services will be transferred.
Well, it is good to see that Calgary has gotten off it's ass and decided that yes, this IS a great facility to have. When they shut down the Brick shelter on 16th ave, I was a little disturbed with the reasoning the news gave behind it. When the surrounding communities protested the shelter, they seemed to think about nothing but the negative aspects of having the shelter in that locale. None of the people intervieweed seemed to look at the larger picture, which is; You might end up here one day. All that they were concerned about seemed to be the addiction, and visual aspect of it all. That somewhat surprised me, since that is not exactly an upper class neighbourhood, and the better part of the residents are now finding themselves in a position to be using those types of resources. Moving the shelter to a more remote location is a wiser decision because there are fewer residents in that area to complain about the less fortunate 'dirtying' up the neighborhood. As long as there is appropriate transportation to and from the shelter, I think that closing it down would be a step backwards in the battle against poverty that this city seems to post the illusion of solving. I hope that more and more facilities will remain open for the public to access, since this is an ongoing battle.