Concerned citizens in Three Rivers gather to find answers to homelessness
As winter approaches, a group of residents in Three Rivers has decided to take matters into their own hands to look for solutions to homelessness in the area.
"We all have the same goals to find a solution so everybody will have a home," said Norma Dingwell, who manages the Southern Kings And Queens Food Bank.
"I know of at least 10 people that are homeless here and they don't like to be visible because they're hurting and they don't want other people to see it."
About two dozen people gathered at the food bank on Tuesday night to brainstorm short-term supports that could be acted on almost immediately, including getting hot meals to those who need them and finding a location for a short-term emergency shelter.
"We have an awful lot of great ideas that I think some people are just gonna run with," she said.
'People that want to help'
The meeting was split into three groups to help identify the main problems in the community, what is currently working well to address homelessness or food insecurity and what more can be done.
"We have energy, we have excitement. We have people that want to help and we need to capitalize on that," said Susan Hartley from Georgetown Royalty who helped organize the event.
"I think it went really well. We didn't solve anything tonight but we came up with a lot of ideas."
Some suggested a community fridge, a community kitchen and ways to get funding to serve more hot meals in the area.
There was talk about potential locations for an emergency shelter, what buildings are vacant and the possibility of building a long-term shelter that would include additional services in the future.
"I'd like to see shelter and I would like to see plans in a month," said Hartley.
"Hail was hitting my face today and I'm sure if you were living in the rough as we used to call it, that you're having a very cold night tonight."
Demand up at food bank
The closest shelter is in Charlottetown — more than 40 kilometres away.
Last year, Montague-Kilmuir MLA Cory Deagle proposed turning the former provincial manor in Montague into an emergency shelter. But on Tuesday, Deagle told those who attended the meeting the building needed repairs and was no longer an option.
"Believe me I had the same thought, 'We have this building sitting here, why can't we use it?'. But it's not always as easy as that, unfortunately," he said.
Homelessness and food insecurity are not new issues in Three Rivers but Dingwell said she is concerned it's getting worse.
She said in the first week of October this year, 96 families used the food bank. Last year at that time the number was 62.
"It's the cost of gas, the cost of home heating oil, cost of food, medicine, everything is just going up and they just don't have enough money to cover the basic necessities," she said.
"There's so many people that you know want to be in .... a better situation."
Future plans
Hartley agreed that with costs rising, something needs to be done now.
"There will be people making really tough decisions about whether they feed their children or they heat their home," she said.
Now the group plans to focus on three key areas: getting hot meals to residents who need them, finding a location that can be used as an immediate short-term shelter this winter and discussing plans for a long-term community shelter.
"There are so many other people out there that care so much and want our community, our part of the province, not to be the next tent city," said Dingwell.
"I'm hoping that with tonight's meeting, and maybe the meeting in a month's time, that we'll be that much closer to having a goal of a shelter."
