The release of a report on Timmins’ emergency shelter has local politicians asking questions.
Nicole Swerhun of Third Party Public talked about the final report at the Cochrane District Social Services Board's (CDSSAB) March 21 meeting, with many of the board members having questions.
CDSSAB awarded the $156,250 contract for the review to Third Party Public. It came after Timmins council asked the CDSSAB for a report to consider the options for relocating the emergency shelter outside of residential and commercial zones. The final report notes 17 issues and 36 proposed solutions, but did not include relocation options.
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City of Timmins Coun. John Curley asked Swerhun if they spent any time talking about a new location.
While Swerhun thinks it’s an important question, she said it’s not her role to answer. She also added that recommending a particular location isn’t something she could do based on the review process.
“It doesn't matter what I think, what matters are the people that participated, and then the people that they represent who didn't participate. There are some really strong voices that think relocation is important. And there are some big risks. And the important thing is to be able to go deep and assess. There's a lot more work that needs to be done to assess how you mitigate those risks,” she said.
Swerhun said relocation isn’t off the table.
“A strong message that I received from several participants was that you have to fix the way it works today, or you might just be moving the problem somewhere else,” she said.
“If the shelter is working well and if there are stronger relationships and relocation still make sense, it seems to me that that's the order of events based on the wisdom shared in the process. But, of course, it's a democratic process … Your community is divided.”
Town of Kapuskasing Mayor David Plourde asked Swerhun what she sees as the biggest benefit of the review process.
“I think when we started this there was one loud set of perspectives,” said Swerhun.
“What this process did was say, yes, your voice is important … But there are many many other voices that are also need to be considered. And this process created space for those to emerge so that it's not inadvertently that you're serving some while you're hurting others.”
Black River-Matheson Mayor Doug Bender said he hopes there will be solutions coming down the road to a complex problem that exists with the shelter.
“I think there are some very, very tangible things that can happen. And frankly, people who participated in the review are expecting will happen,” said Swerhun.
Mayor Peter Politis asked what Swerhun says to those who may think the report is biased.
“People don't agree with what's in the report. It doesn't mean that it's biased,” Swerhun said.
“We all have our own truth because of the lives we have lived and the experiences we've had. The fact that we documented all of them is almost the opposite of bias. We didn't privilege any one voice or any position over the other. We listened to all.”
