Mayor Gregor Robertson.JOHN LEHMANN
Vancouver is reopening the controversial Granville Street Shelter as part of its plan to house the homeless this winter - with just 48 hours notice to the surrounding community.
The shelter was shut down in June 2009 because of rising complaints about public drug use, brawls, shouting and people coming into the area with weapons or to sell drugs.
On Tuesday, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said he believes the reopened shelter will avoid those problems.
"We're confident that we can have a good, safe operation at the Granville Street Shelter this winter on a temporary basis through until April," said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
The city has rolled out new operating guidelines, including 24-hour supervision of the site.
The city's winter response plan includes opening a total of four additional Homeless Emergency Action Team (HEAT) shelters in the city, on top of the existing three HEAT shelters that have remained open since the beginning of last winter. This winter, the city plans to create 160 additional beds to shelter Vancouver's homeless during the wet and cold winter months.
The additional shelter beds will be opened thanks to a $500,000 contribution from the city and $1.2-million from the province. The shelters will remain open until the end of April.
The Granville Street Shelter offers two medium-sized rooms - one with couches and an eating area and the other for sleeping. The shelter has only two washrooms, no showers, and at capacity will house 40 homeless.
City officials estimate there are at least 1,600 homeless people in Vancouver today, but acknowledge the actual number could be much higher. Even when all of the existing and soon-to-open shelters in the city are operating at capacity, the city will still be short at least 350 beds.
The mayor is promising better communication about the HEAT shelters this year, having conceded that was a problem in 2009. However, he said residents around the Granville Street Shelter were alerted to its reopening 48 hours ago.
"Due to the timeframe we've had over the last couple of weeks, and the funding only being committed in December, we have not had the time to do robust consultation with businesses and residents around the shelter," Mr. Robertson said.
The B.C. government has only guaranteed funding for the shelters until the end of April 2010. At that time, Mr. Robertson said he hopes the people in the shelters will find a more permanent home.