Sheldon M. Chumir Supervised Consumption Services Notice of Motion
EVAN WOOLLEY·TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019
I have spent most of my life in and around the Beltline. I’ve lived, worked, and played in the neighbourhood. I know its ins and outs better than most. Since the early 1990s the Beltline has transformed from a rough-and-tumble part of town to one of the great community revitalization stories in Canada. Despite the shrinking investment across Downtown, the Beltline is where cranes continue to work and development endures. People keep moving to the Beltline because it’s Calgary most vibrant neighbourhood.
In October of 2017, I stood in front of our citizens with the Chief of Police, the Mayor, the Minister of Health and the President of the Beltline Neighbourhoods Association, and said that opening the Supervised Consumption Services (SCS) facility at the Sheldon M. Chumir Clinic was important to the city and the community. We faced a public health crisis that has taken some 800 citizens’ lives in Calgary in the last three years. This crisis continues. The opioid crisis has caused unspeakable damage to families and communities, without prejudice.
But we also remained committed to keeping the Beltline safe and I stand here today to acknowledge that we have failed in that commitment. That ends today.
Over the last number of months, I have watched with growing worry the increase in crime and disorder concerns in the neighbourhood. I have seen them myself and have been hearing from neighbours, businesses, and community organizations who live in and love the area. People are feeling afraid and unsafe and that’s unacceptable.
The report made public today, Crime & Disorder near the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre’s Supervised Consumption Services Facility, validates what I have been hearing on the ground. The increases in crime and disorder can be attributed to: an increase in use at the SCS facility, shift from opioid use to methamphetamine use, as well as an increase in drug trafficking at or near the SCS Facility.
We must take immediate action to restore community safety and, after many discussions with key stakeholders, I have submitted an urgent Notice of Motion on February 4th to respond to this issue. Please click here to read it:
Responding to SCS Concerns NoM.pdf
This response is focused directly on community and public safety concerns validated in the report with regards to disorder, drugs, violence, break & enters, and vehicle crime. I am asking for City Council to direct administration to work with key stakeholders, including Alberta Health Services and the Calgary Police Service to take immediate action to increase public safety. My 12-point action plan includes:
1. An expanded Downtown Outreach Addiction Partnership (DOAP) Program dedicated to the Beltline
2. Additional onsite psychologists and psychiatrists that specialize in addictions and mental health within SCS Facility
3. Development of comprehensive treatment strategies associated with the SCS Facility
4. Review of operations at the SCS Facility to address intake and outpatient optimization
5. Increase mobile AHS support staff to allow for better monitoring in and around the SCS Facility
6. Creation of a Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) Improvement Fund with a terms of reference
7. Resources to support the Beltline Neighbourhood Association, 4th Street Business Improvement Area, and Victoria Park Business Improvement Area in order to incentivize community-driven programming at Central Memorial Park and other potential community space in the vicinity
8. Review of needle box locations
9. Implementation of daily needle debris clean-ups within a 250 metre radius of the SCS Facility
10. Increased Corporate Security at City-owned properties within a 400 metre radius around SCS Facility
11. Implement increased security surveillance at Central Memorial Park
12. Engagement at the SCS Community Liaison Committee on the topic of a permanent and centralized police presence in the Centre City
Furthermore, my Notice of Motion formally requests that the Calgary Police Commission ask the Calgary Police Service to attend the February 13 meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Community and Protective Services to provide information and answer questions on the Calgary Police Services continuing strategy to address social disorder, crime, and violence near the SCS facility and Centre City. This will also be an opportunty for members of the public and community stakeholders to voice their concerns directly to Council.
I believe that the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre’s Supervised Consumption Services facility is an important pillar in a broader set of programs, policies, and practices to address this crisis. We will only be successful if those citizens who share a community with this facility are safe.
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