Northeast Edmonton business concerned with drug use near women’s emergency shelter

A northeast Edmonton emergency shelter for women is being linked to disorder in the Belvedere neighbourhood.

The owner of a nearby business claims since the facility opened up roughly a year-and-a-half ago, he’s noticed more open-air drug use and violence. He is calling on the new city council to take action.

“Before, it was pretty bad, but it seems to have gotten worse,” said Danny Vo, who works at Fort Road Appliances near the shelter.

He says it can be hard coming into work and seeing the aftermath from the night before.

“They’ve broken into our property at night time before. We caught them on camera. They’ve stolen stuff from our backyard, our vehicles. Just constant problems,” said Vo.

The team at Fort Road Appliances says needles and human waste scattered around their shop and at a nearby bus stop have become nearly a daily sight. They say hazardous waste from drugs and drug users frightens away customers.

City councillor Aaron Paquette says the shelter’s lease was set to expire this November, but was extended through the winter into March after a new location couldn’t be found. Since then, calls for action to clean up the neighbourhood are growing louder.

“We need to decentralize what’s happening downtown, but if we don’t have the proper supports and proactive supports in place, communities are going to reject this outright,” said Paquette.

Paquette is putting forward a motion to analyze calls for emergency services in the area, clean-up costs, safety concerns, along with a report to identify a new service model or location, to prevent any more lease extensions at the current site.

The press secretary for Alberta’s Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services says the Elizabeth Fry Society, which runs the shelter, hasn’t received complaints from the community league or the city.

“It’s deeply concerning to see motions being brought forward that limit shelter for Albertans and attack the men and women providing this shelter — motions that leave Albertans out in the cold,” Amber Edgerton told CityNews.

“Any attempt to displace homeless Albertans in the dead of winter and force our most vulnerable to freeze on the streets will be blocked by the province.”

But Vo is hoping for solutions before the winter weather gets worse.

“It’s something we’ve been dealing with for a long time and haven’t seen any action taken. That’s important to all of us here,” he explained.

Paquette’s motion is expected to be presented to the council this week.