Saskatoon Tribal Council not interested in buying troubled Lighthouse Supported Living Inc. shelter

Chief Mark Arcand says the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) is not interested in buying the Lighthouse towers in downtown Saskatoon.

Arcand saidthe STC doesn't have the money, and it already has its hands full operating a 106-bed emergency wellness centre in the Fairhaven neighbourhood.

Further, Arcand saidhe simply doesn't like the location.

"I don't like being downtown," he said in an interview.

"If we can get all the services out of downtown and put them into neighbourhoods like ours and get the services that come to the people, it's going to be better. I look at downtown being for people that can afford to live downtown, and do that."

A King's Bench judge in Saskatoon approved a proposal by receiver MNP Ltd. to sell the Lighthouse's assets in the city.

MNP will not talk about how its operating the assisted living units and apartments in the downtown buildings. Reports posted on its corporate website offer insight into what's happening in the towers.

The Lighthouse no longer offers emergency shelter beds after the province stopped funding them in May.

It houses 137 people in its independent living tower and assisted living tower.

But what's happening on the street outside the buildingis creating issues in the area, according to MNP.

"During the month of May 2023 there was an increased number of unhoused individuals gathering around the Towers including some choosing to sleep on the sidewalk outside the property," the MNP report said.

"These individuals were not clients of the Lighthouse, however, chose to gather and remain near the property."

MNP is working with police and fire "to direct the individuals gathering outside the Towers property to other service providers and shelters," the MNP report said.

• Accountants now running Lighthouse Supported Living after court places non-profit in receivership

The people who gather outside the Lighthouse, sleeping in the open under blankets or inmakeshift tents, are a visual reminder of the complex challenges facing the city today, Arcand said.

Arcand saidhaving the STC buy the Lighthouse and re-open it as a shelter is not the right path.

"Shelters aren't the answer right now because we're just putting heads in beds and we're not solving anything, right? We still have people that are using drugs, and that's the issue," he said.

"Addictions is the issue because you can see what's happening in our downtown area, across our city, there's violent occurences happening, stabbings from people in psychosis."

People who are sleeping on the street in front of the Lighthouse, and on the sidewalks and alcoves on the surrounding blocks, all have their reasons for staying there.

But the executive director of the Salvation Army's Crossroads shelter on Avenue C South says it's not because there are no emergency shelter beds available.

There are 75 beds at Crossroads and, in the summer months, there are typically at least 20 beds available, Major Gordon Taylor said. The shelter is only open to menand offers three meals a day.

"When we're talking about the people you see out on the street, oftentimes they're suffering from multiple issues to do with addictions, mental health often a combination of the two," he said.

"Sometimes people arechoosing to be outside. It doesn't mean it's a good choice, or a choice that you or I would make, but it's a choice they're making."

Taylor said Crossroads used a similar approach toSTC, providing a range of services at its facility. Arcand calls it "wraparound services," while Taylor calls it providing a continuum of care.

"We consider Crossroads to be an entry point into a continuum of care where people are coming in because now, tonight, they need a place to sleep and they need a place to have breakfast tomorrow," he said.

"But that's not the destination, that's the entry point. We're going to offer them more help along the way over the days, weeks, months we're working with them."