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City, SACY refuse interviews about downtown warming centre issues

Sudbury.com visited the centre earlier this month prompted by concerns shared with us by downtown outreach workers

Last week, Sudbury.com ran an article about a visit this reporter made at night to the downtown warming centre for the city’s vulnerable homeless population. 

Our visit was prompted by information shared with us by the many outreach workers we interact with as part of our coverage of the city’s homelessness crisis. Our sources raised several issues — staffing shortages, safety concerns, lack of supplies, particularly of Narcan, the opioid overdose medication, and the potential for a dangerous situation for staff and clients due to these issues. 

All of these challenges were clearly in evidence during Sudbury.com’s unannounced visit.

After publishing the story, we reached out to city staff and an elected official, as well as the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY), which operates the taxpayer-funded warming centre that is located at 199 Larch Street in a lower level of Tom Davies Square.

We were looking for a response to the situation witnessed by this reporter and the outreach workers who tipped us off.

We didn’t get very far.

SACY declined to comment, but did provide a statement that reads, “Currently, SACY management is working with our program funder (the City of Greater Sudbury) and are following procedures to address information released through public comments about our services.”

We wanted to ask them about staffing, cleaning protocols and pandemic protocols that are in place, and we wanted to ask them about the issues raised by our coverage.

We then reach out to Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier, whose ward includes both Memorial Park and the warming centre. He declined our interview request.

Sudbury.com also reached out to the city to arrange an interview with Gail Spencer, who is the city’s co-ordinator for shelters and homelessness.

Again, we were rebuffed. Maggie Frampton, manager of communications indicated that it was viewed as an “opinion story” and as such an interview would not be granted. Frampton did supply answers to a few written questions.

Frampton said the warming centre is funded with assistance from the provincial Social Services Relief Fund. The original agreement was $35,850 per month for daytime hours (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.) from July 1 to Aug. 31, 2021. On Sept. 10, 2021, the hours expanded from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a funding boost to $41,101 a month starting in September. 

The city said the centre went from daytime to overnight on Oct. 4, 2021. SACY was provided with $52,045 in funding for that month and approximately $82,143 per month from last November through to May 31, 2022, when the agreement ends. Sudbury.com was not provided a budget showing how those funds are used.

For that cost, the warming centre is available for those who need it day and night. While the capacity limit for the space in TDS is a maximum of 32 people, our sources tell Sudbury.com the average capacity usually exceeds that, as it did on the night this reporter visited when we counted more than 40 people. However, given the frigid daytime and nighttime temperatures in recent weeks, it seems reasonable to exceed the capacity limit on humanitarian grounds.

While SACY originally agreed to operate the program as a cooling centre in the summer, Frampton said, “The operation of a daytime and/or overnight warming centre went through an open Request for Proposal process in August 2021.” As there were no successful bidders to operate the program, the city asked SACY to continue the operations as it transitioned to a warming centre in the cold weather.

When asked about staffing shortages, Frampton stated that staffing and COVID-19 protocols are developed by SACY in consultation with Public Health Sudbury and Districts, before pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary reason for issues with staffing.

“There are staffing shortages throughout the homelessness sector programs due to the current COVID-19 pandemic,” she wrote. “As the operators of the program, SACY determines the appropriate levels of staffing. Staff shortages may result in a reduced capacity of clients.”

When Sudbury.com visited the centre, there were no security personnel present for the 30 minutes our reporter spent in the facility. When asked about this, Frampton insisted security staff are in place “at all times,” despite the fact none were evident. 

“The SACY warming centre has four security staff in place at all times. Protocols are in place at the warming centre to mitigate overdoses, such as washroom security checks and a no drug use program,” said Frampton. 

In terms of safety, we asked why so few staff were in place overnight, considering warming centre staff are far outnumbered by clients, particularly when those clients have a higher prevalence of challenges (mental health issues and addiction) than the general population. As has been previously published, many people living on the street carry weapons for their own protection, as well.

“Staff have been trained to resolve conflict using de-escalation safety training techniques,” Frampton stated. “We continue to tailor our security service to adapt to the needs of the centre.” 

The cleanliness of the facility was also an issue raised by outreach workers and was evident when Sudbury.com’s reporter visited. Frampton said that there is a contracted cleaner on site 24 hours a day, “but any additional deep cleaning would require the program to close for long periods of time; we are not prepared to close the doors during the winter.”

As for inspections, Frampton stated the warming centre has undergone Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) inspections from Public Health, and “no major concerns have been brought to our attention.” Though asked how often, the city did not specify.

When Sudbury.com reached out, Public Health Sudbury and Districts stated they had “ongoing” consultations with SACY, “to review procedures and provide guidance on infection control measures to use at the warming centre. Consultations can occur at their request or as needed during outbreak or if a complaint is received and include topics such as screening of staff and clients, hand hygiene, mask wearing, and environmental cleaning.” 

When asked to specify the timelines and content of the ongoing consultations, including the most recent, PHSD did not respond. 

Sudbury.com has also interviewed numerous outreach workers with knowledge of the warming centre’s operations and will be sharing those insights in a future story.

Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com. She covers the diverse communities of Sudbury, especially the vulnerable or marginalized, including the Black, Indigenous, newcomer and Francophone communities, as well as 2SLGBTQ+ and issues of the downtown core.


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Jenny Lamothe

About the Author: Jenny Lamothe

Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com. She covers the diverse communities of Sudbury, especially the vulnerable or marginalized.
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