Issues surrounding the Memorial Park encampment have prompted another relocation from the area, with the YMCA deciding to close its Durham Street daycare for 60 days.
The daycare’s operations, which accommodates five toddlers and eight preschoolers, will be shifted to the Lansdowne Early Learning Child Care Centre beginning Nov. 15.
Their temporary relocation follows this week’s announcement that Royal Canadian Legion branches 564 and 76 have cancelled this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies at Memorial Park.
The chief concern at the Durham Street daycare has been the discovery of sharps (syringe needles), YMCA acting vice president of child, youth and family development Rob Groccia said.
Sharps have been found in the kids’ outdoor play space in the past, and while they were disposed of before anyone has been injured, winter is coming.
“Snow is coming, and it just makes it that much more difficult and we just don’t want to put anyone at risk — our staff, our children, anyway,” Groccia said.
“In the interim, if there were to be snow, we’ve set up a safe space indoors they can still work with some of those gross motor skills that are important for children to develop.”
Maintaining an outdoor space for children to play and learn in is both mandated by the Ministry of Education and integral to the YMCA’s curriculum, he said.
“Outdoors gives the ability to have a larger space and experience different types of activities.”
The City of Greater Sudbury provides an operating grant for the daycare, and city director of Children and Social Services Tyler Campbell said the decision to temporarily relocate its operations was made in consultation with the city.
“We’re addressing some parent concerns in the decision to move it,” he said, describing these concerns as “health and safety … related to the neighbouring encampment at Memorial Park.”
The YMCA intends on returning to the space in 60 days, and Campbell said the city intends to continue moving along with its encampment strategy, which centres on an “individualized approach with individuals in Memorial Park.”
The encampment strategy has been aided by the Greater Sudbury Encampment Response Guide written by homelessness consultant Iain De Jong, who in addition to helping the city map out a broader approach is working with the city on drafting an indoor winter alternative to the Memorial Park encampment.
Greater Sudbury city council unanimously requested this winter alternative during their Oct. 26 meeting and city staff has been given direction to provide an update at their Nov. 23 meeting.
Campbell said that the city is working hard on this winter alternative, which they’re working on alongside various other efforts related to the encampment strategy.
“We’ve got many strategies in place to create some more rooms in our social housing units, for example, by converting two-bedroom units to one-bedroom units,” Campbell said. “We’re starting to see that take place, which is good, and we’ll be continuing to work on an individualized approach with individuals in Memorial Park to look at housing-focused solutions for them.”
Meanwhile, city staff is currently on-site doing winter maintenance on the park, including the winterization of its irrigation system and splash pad, and a cleanup of the site has been scheduled for Nov. 10. This cleanup will not include the clearing out of people living in the park, but of the garbage and debris scattered throughout the area.
By the time the daycare returns to the site in mid-January, Groccia said he expects to see some positive changes.
His hope, he said, is that “the community comes together with its different social service agencies to create a safer space that there isn’t the potential for sharps to be in our outdoor play space.”
A full copy of the Greater Sudbury Encampment Response Guide is available by clicking here.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
