“While site selection is not part of the formal agreement between The City and the Province, we believe that the Province will support a recommendation in good spirit as part of a shared responsibility to providing shelter services in our community,” said Mayor Ken Johnston. “When citizens come to the table to discuss criteria, we ask that they come with an open mind. Consider all the factors in selecting a location, not just proximity to your home, your business, your property. The permanent shelter will not be what we currently have, it will be an integrated shelter for our vulnerable population to access services that will support them on their journey to permanent housing.”
“We are beginning public participation based on the understanding our community wants to help us to address shelter needs. We are starting with a clean slate when it comes to actual location,” said Interim City Manager Tara Lodewyk. “We recognize that some citizens will want to propose specific locations but we want to dig deeper to understand why. We will be asking further questions – why do they think that site is a good option, what does it have that would make it the right place and see how that aligns or builds upon the criteria we already have in place.”
Input opportunities continue for permanent shelter
Red Deerians and community partners still have an opportunity to provide their input on the permanent shelter site criteria, and additional areas of the project. The following are the input opportunities this week:
ONLINE
- The online survey continues to be available until 4:30 p.m. on June 10. Citizens wanting to participate in the online survey can access it here.
IN-PERSON
- We are hosting three in-person sessions at Westerner Park on both June 8 and 9 (1-3 p.m., 3:30-5:30 p.m., 6:15-8:15 p.m.). Each session is limited to 25 participants.
- June 8: register here.
- June 9: register here. (limited spaces available)
EMAIL
- For input on the permanent shelter outside of site criteria, citizens and community partners are asked to email [email protected]. All emails received prior to Monday June 13 will be included in administrations report to Council on June 20.
The input opportunities allow The City to discuss and dig into site criteria with the intent to inform a City Council decision about the future site of a permanent shelter in Red Deer.
Administration will present a what we heard report to Council on June 20. Following this meeting, site criteria will be finalized which will guide the site selection process.
For more information about the permanent shelter project, please visit www.reddeer.ca/shelter.
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