A temporary shelter may be needed in New Westminster to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city hasbeen working with non-profit organizations and other local stakeholders to develop actions to address issues and impacts resulting from COVID-19, including issues relating to at-risk and vulnerable populations. A wide variety of actions are underway, including efforts to provide food, laundry and shower facilities, hygiene and sanitation needs, resources and a temporary shelter.

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“It has definitely been one of the top-priority issues with our working group dedicated on vulnerable populations because I think we recognize if COVID-19 gets into those populations, given some underlying health issues, it could be a lot more serious and it could also spread a lot quicker than it would with other populations,” said Mayor Jonathan Cote. “It certainly is one of our top concerns here in New Westminster.”

Cote said there are concerns about maintaining physical distancing within the homeless population, even within some of the existing housing facilities in New West.

“As of right now we haven’t identified any COVID-19 health issues, but there is a big concern that if a case did show up it could actually spread very quickly and to a vulnerable population,” he said.

Cote said the City of New Westminster has been working with the provincial government and Fraser Health on the potential for setting up a temporary shelter to help spread out the housing needs for the homeless population in New Westminster. He said three possible locations have been identified – Queen’s Park Arena, the Corporate Inn on 12th Street and the Massey gym at New Westminster Secondary School – and the city is still working with the provincial government to identify the most appropriate location.

“The province is definitely interested in not having multiple locations. It would be a lot easier for them to manage, to have one additional location, which is why Queen’s Park Arena, which is the largest facility, probably is having a big look. Those conversations are still ongoing,” he told the Record. “We do feel that there is a bit of a concern, particularly how COVID-19 might spread amongst the vulnerable population, that we do need to have this bit of a housing value to help spread out and make sure that the housing needs are addressed. But there are complications with getting these things up temporarily. We need to get the health authority’s approval on a number of things. It is still an active conversation between the city, BC Housing and Fraser Health.”

While a case of coronavirus among this vulnerable community in New Westminster would drive this forward, Cote said a shelter could be set up as a precautionary measure if COVID-19 issues start to occur in other areas, such as the Downtown Eastside or other neighbourhoods that have higher concentrations of homeless people.

The City of New Westminster is helping to identify some unused facilities that may be able to serve as a temporary shelter, but it would be up to BC Housing to set it up, Cote said.

In recent weeks, city council has received updates from several working groups established in response to COVID-19.

Coun. Chuck Puchmayr said the Cliff Block can no longer take the same volume of people at its shelter because of the new physical distancing requirements. He said Fire Chief Tim Armstrong has secured 100 motor homes that can be used, if needed, for people in the vulnerable population who are either isolation, or recovering from COVID-19.

“It is my opinion, as well as our executive director, Shayne Williams, that there may be a need for multiple types of shelters, depending on how this population presents,” said Puchmayr, chair of the Lookout Foundation, which supports the Lookout Housing and Health Society. “So far, BC Housing has agreed to a 24-hour Emergency Shelter in the Cliff Block, regardless of weather, however with a reduced capacity due to spacing requirements.”

During a recent update to council, Coun. Jaime McEvoy expressed some reservations about using the Corporate Inn for housing homeless people.

“There’s a lot of work that would have to be done to make this safe in a time of epidemic, not just create like a cruise ship-type condition,” he said. “Some of those things are: how will social distancing be encouraged on the site in a situation where people are quite used to being highly social and acting freely? The issue of safe drug supply.”

Cote told the Record that the issue of a safe drug supply is “another complicating issue” that the city would have to deal with as part of this plan.

“The reality is drug addiction doesn’t disappear just because a crisis emerges,” he said. “We know people that do have addiction issues are going to face even more challenges being able to get the drugs that they use, which has a whole other layer of complications.”

Cote said discussions are occurring in various communities about the best ways to serve that need from a public health perspective.

“It’s a little bit more difficult in communities that don’t have that already set up. I think Vancouver already has some of those structures set up for that, but we have definitely highlighted it as a concern,” he said

. “I think if you combine the COVID-19 crisis with addiction issues, it might be a lot harder to manage vulnerable populations if we also are dealing with some pretty significant addiction issues.”

Courtney Pankratz, coordinator of the New Westminster Overdose Community Action Team,has been brought on as a consultant to the at-risk and vulnerable populations working group. She said existing shelters have been following the guidelines from the health officials to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“They are all making sure they are sanitizing things regularly,” she said. “They are ensuring people are maintaining those physical distancing barriers. I think there are fewer people that are allowed into a shelter than there used to be.”

Pankratz said there are a variety of reasons why people may be noticing more homeless people on New West streets since the COVID-19 crisis began, including fewer spaces in existing shelters and closure of warming centres and facilities where vulnerable people would normally go.

“Also, there is a lot of fear – less eyes on the street. So maybe people are feeling a bit more concerned about their safety and so coming to New West. We might be seeing people from Vancouver and Surrey migrating this way for their own safety,” she recently told the Record. “I think that is a really big thing right now – a lot of new faces.”