Homeless encampment at Chilliwack Secondary concerns downtown advocate who fears next daytime shelter will end up downtown again

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Image: Supplied by T. McNeill / A homeless encampment cropped up over the weekend at Chilliwack Secondary; Griffin Security was able to disband it and move homeless people along.

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“I will give [Griffin] a lot of credit,” she said. “They always show up. Now I just call and let them do their thing. It should be Griffin moving them along before they set up tents. Before the homeless have left their drug paraphernalia on school property, have someone walk the perimeter of the school. You’re getting paid to patrol these grounds. The word will get out.”

It’s not the first time that McNeill has witnessed tents on the grounds of Chilliwack Secondary, but she and her family live near the Yale Road corridor, just east of downtown, where drug paraphernalia and homeless effects are apparent.

McNeill lives in close proximity to the former Portal homeless shelter at 46293 Yale Road East. She opposed the placement of the Portal in its former location because it was too close to two nearby schools, Chilliwack Middle School and Chilliwack Secondary School; students experienced negative effects associated with patrons at the Portal.

“When school was in, kids were getting accosted by drug addicts,” McNeill pointed out. “They were asking for money or threatening people. Parents reacted and told the principal, and suddenly the RCMP were moving them out. The Portal was a nightmare; men and women were afraid to stay there.”

Word that another daytime homeless shelter is coming to Chilliwack isn’t necessarily music to her ears, however. The B.C. NDP government announced Monday (Aug. 22) that it will fund a daytime wellness centre to provide wraparound supports where homeless people can go to seek refuge and services. A request for proposals (RFP) was issued on August 19 by the City of Chilliwack inviting qualified proponents to submit documents to successfully operate a wellness shelter under a term commencing October 1 and ending March 1, 2023. The RFP process closes on Friday, September 9.

This is not to be confused with the 42-bed homeless shelter that will be built about one block west of Shandhar Hut, a popular Indian restaurant on Young Road.

While the exact daytime shelter location isn’t known at this time, McNeill fears for the worst if it does wind up downtown. She speaks as someone who worked for the Salvation Army for over 15 years.

“I remember the last time they had a wellness shelter,” McNeill said, referring to a former centre in the 46200 block of Yale Road, close to the downtown core. “There was nothing wellness about it; they were buying and selling drugs right on site. It was a drug den. If they’re so high on helping these people, I dare them to put this in the new city hall [under construction] or by the new District 1881 buildings. Don’t put it by the schools and don’t put it by the residential areas.”

McNeill says she marvels at how far the downtown has been revitalized thanks to the recent Mural Festival that celebrated the arrival of 10 contemporary new murals. She wants more of that and less of the derelict effects of “wellness centres.”

“I kept hearing about all these murals,” she said. “When I actually got out there and walked around downtown, I was so impressed with how much work had gone into cleaning up the downtown and making it a place where people and families can come. The last thing we need is a wellness shelter. We don’t need another nightmare.”