Homeless influx a concern for northwest residents
Church that hosts winter warming room hears fears of neighbours at town hall
Despite a church's olive branch, many residents of two northwest communities appear unswayed in their concerns over an influx of homeless people.
About 200 residents of Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak attended a town hall Thursday night hosted by Journey Church, which has operated a warming centre the past two winters and a day drop-in for the first time this summer.
The meeting was arranged to allay growing anger within the communities over what some residents say is an increase in homeless encampments, drug use and safety concerns they attribute to the church's outreach work.
“Residents have noticed a shift in their communities, it has fundamentally affected the social dynamics of the neighbourhoods and (they) feel the safety of their communities has been compromised,” said Lindsay Paul, who read a collection of residents' concerns during the meeting at the church at 10307 Eamon Rd.
Journey Church Rev. Jessica Disabatino acknowledged community concerns, but said the issue reflects a growing problem of homelessness that's increasingly spilled over into suburban parts of Calgary.
She said before the December 2022 launch of its warm-up centre, a steady stream of unhoused Calgarians were showing up to seek refuge at the church, which is next to the Tuscany LRT station.
“I didn't take the Ctrain downtown and tell people `come up here, it's pretty nice,' they just came,” said Disabatino, adding she has three decades' experience working with vulnerable populations in other cities in Canada and the U.S.
“Whenever people are in distress, my Christian faith demands I do something ... this is not the kind of neighbourhood we want to live in where we're stepping over people.”
During the winter, the church serves about 40 homeless people a day with food and warm space during the day but doesn't offer overnight accommodation. Its summer program handles about half those numbers, said the church, which receives funding from the Calgary Homeless Foundation and congregation donations.
She said the church has a zero tolerance for encampments and drug use on its property, and also connects vulnerable people with substance-abuse treatment and housing.
And she noted they work with professional social workers with experience helping marginalized populations.
But most of the audience appeared opposed to the church's efforts, with some in attendance insisting the area was the wrong place for the programs.
“The most compassionately Christian act would be closing this location and moving the church downtown,” one woman said to applause.
Many of the church's clients say they make the trek to Rocky Ridge and sleep on the street to escape what they call unsafe shelters in the downtown.
Others at the town hall said the homeless people attracted by the church are soon out of its control when they leave it for the night and menace the community, which wasn't consulted before the programs were initiated.
“I want to know why this wasn't taken to the community — this is outrageous and you just did this because you're good Christians,” said one woman.
That comment raised the ire of church congregant Josh Muir, who was helping manage the town hall and said residents should get to know some of the homeless they serve.
“I approach them, I take them for coffee or food,” he said.
“We're here now — we've created a great facility for people who need it.”
But a man in the audience argued it's not the community's responsibility to support programs that place residents at risk.
“We have a moral obligation to the safety of this community,” he said.
“I've dealt with drug paraphernalia, and if any of our children touch something left behind, they'll be in hospital.”
Church leaders and a member of the Rocky Ridge-royal Oak Community Association said police statistics show crime in the area hasn't increased since December 2022 and that it's unfair to blame those the church helps for crimes that do occur.
And some at the town hall said they dealt with symptoms of homelessness in the area long before the church's efforts, which seems to have diminished those signs.
“We've had people overdose on our front lawn, people running from people, and I've had people who are homeless at my dining room table,” said one man.
“Since the homeless centre opened, I've seen none of that. I've seen a dramatic impact since the warming centre opened.”
But after the meeting, a 64-yearold woman — who said she was accosted on a Rocky Ridge asphalt pathway last month by a heavily intoxicated man and was injured in a fall from her e-bike — said the town hall did nothing to resolve concerns.
“I am shocked and saddened as to how they are handling this,” said the woman, who withheld her name out of concern for her safety.
The woman said she suspects the man who accosted her was a client of the church, though there's no proof of that.
Disabatino said the church has made mistakes in how it handled its homeless outreach, including not consulting earlier with residents and allowing a desperate family to camp on its property.
But she insisted they're committed to correcting that.
“We have made some mistakes ... we're asking for forgiveness,” she said.
“I've always overcome fear — we must overcome fear.”