Should Timmins' emergency shelter be in town or out of town?

Living Space controversy continues in Timmins Residents and business near the Living Space shelter say not enough attention has been paid to the impacts on the surrounding area.

A review looking into the location of the Living Space – a Timmins area emergency shelter – is moving ahead.

Third Party Public, the consulting company doing the location review, will be holding public input sessions later this month focusing on two key questions; the advantages and disadvantages of in-town and out-of-town locations and what a well-working emergency shelter looks like.

The consulting firm said the two-hour meetings will start with 30-minute presentations on what they have learned so far with the rest set aside for both small-scale and full-room constructive conversations on the key issues.

“The conversation will really be on, ‘If it’s working well, what does it look like?’” said Nicole Swerhun, Third Party Public’s managing Prinicipal.

“Then people have suggested in-town and out-of-town locations, so we’re going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages.”

The sessions are Nov. 21 from 7-9 p.m. at the Porcupine Dante Club and Nov. 23 from 7-9 p.m. at the Senator Hotel. Organizers have said each session will be the same and people registering are asked to choose the one that works best for them.

The public can register for the community sessions online.

The consultant said it is not what they think that is important but what the people and organizations of Timmins feel makes sense for the community – Third Party Public’s job is to bring all voices together.

The review of Living Space's location is a result of months of debate in the community about the emergency shelter being moved to a residential area.

In July, Timmins city council asked the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB) for a review considering the options to relocate the shelter outside of residential and commercial zones.

Work on the review began in September with a final report expected in February 2024.

For the first part of the three-phase review, the consultants met with more than 75 people.

Members of the ‘Voices of Timmins Committee,’an advocacy group calling for the shelter’s relocation told CTV News they had a productive meeting with the consulting firm last month.

“They’re really listening to us, so we’re very happy with that,” said committee member, Sonya Biemann.

“We’re pretty confident that they will come up with a good plan.”

According to the summary report that was recently released, many individuals consistently shared similar messages.

People expressed the importance of the location review being as public as possible and the importance of treating all people with dignity and respect. Many also said there is a desire to have meaningful discussions with the Indigenous communities in the area. Several residents shared that those living in the area surrounding the Living Space Shelter have experienced significant negative impacts since it opened and that downtown Timmins is also struggling.

“They’re talking about the opioid crisis, housing affordability, economic decline downtown, high crime rates, cuts to social assistance, limited access to walk-in medical care," said Swerhun.

"Like, there’s a lot, a lot of things that people are raising that are maybe related to the location of the emergency shelter, but may not be.”

The summary also noted that there are different perspectives on where an emergency shelter should be located – with some believing strongly that it needs to be centrally located so it's close to services while others want it moved out of town – with many locations proposed by both sides of the debate.

Officials who are part of the ongoing process said rather than focusing on specific addresses it makes more sense to discuss in-town versus out-of-town and incrementally making a decision.

“Many envision this as a 24/7 facility that could be divided into sections with low barrier, high barrier and transitional housing and provide a full range of wrap-around services, food and primary health care," reads the phase one summary.

"Others proposed the possibility of multiple locations, with a high barrier shelter potentially located in town (like the Good Samaritan in South Porcupine) and a housing development out of town where treatment would be provided, food and wrap-around services."

The final report to council will offer relocation options and the benefits and challenges associated with those locations from the perspective of CDSSAB, the city, local businesses and the community.

After this month's community sessions, there is still another round of consultation. There will also be sessions held for Indigenous voices and service providers along with a focus group for people experiencing homelessness.

The preliminary report can be found here and a website has been set up to keep the public up-to-date on the relocation consultation efforts.

– With files from CTV News Northern Ontario video journalist Sergio Arangio