The province of Prince Edward Island is setting up a mobile housing unit site to ease homelessness in its capital, though the project is facing some opposition from nearby residents.
Some people in Charlottetown are living in an encampment next to a Holland College parking lot. Estimates from those living in the encampment put the number of people living there between 10 and 20. There are currently more than 100 who don't have a place to live in the city.
The college had been working with the province on a solution and the provincial government found one, purchasing 40 to 50 mobile housing units.
“It was the quickest solution. Winter is going to be here in 60 days time, and the whole thought of our homeless population on the street in 40 below weather just doesn’t sit well,” said Minister of Social Development and Housing Matthew MacKay. “I wanted to make sure that they had a nice warm bed and we can offer the programs that they need for help.”
The units will be installed at a provincial property on the corner of Park Street and Riverside Drive, which is currently being used by Health PEI as a COVID-19 testing site and was a former garage for the Department of Public Works.
However, some nearby residents say they aren’t pleased with the solution.
“The residents down here have already got a taste of this, and they’re not happy because what we’ve seen so far from the province isn’t working, so who would want it?” says Terry MacLeod, councillor for the area. “So it’s not a question of whether it goes A, B, or C, it’s (that) they’ve got to come up with a better solution.”
Sentiment on the street is mixed. Some say they are concerned about property values and a potential increase in crime, but they also say they have compassion for those struggling.
“A little bit, but at the end of the day winter’s coming,” says Chris Beaton, a resident of Park Street. “They have to stay somewhere. They can’t be living out in parks.”
The province is calling the site a short-term solution and there isn’t a plan yet for a long-term fix.
“It’s not like we had a lot of choices, in the short-term we’ve been working on this, so we had to act and, at the end of day, I know it’s the right decision because we’re talking to people’s lives here,” said MacKay.
The units are expected to land in P.E.I within the next few weeks to be ready for winter.
