'People have no place to go': West Broadway ministry says meth addicts sleeping on floor of drop-in centre
Volunteers and patrons work around dozens of sleeping meth addicts every day
A West Broadway drop-in centre says the effects of the city's meth crisis is falling at their feet.
Each day, volunteers and patrons at the West Broadway Community Ministry must work around dozens of sleeping meth addicts who have nowhere else to go except for mats on the floor.
"We're a soup kitchen and drop-in, and the idea is to feed people. We're not a place for sleeping but people are exhausted because they're walking all night and they don't have a place to go," said the centre's minister, Lynda Trono.
Trono said the ministry borrowed the mats from another outreach group that offers a place to sleep in the winter months and wasn't using them.
The mats have been set up in the main area of the drop-in centre for the last two months and are in constant use from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
"We didn't figure they'd be in constant use, we thought some people might just want to take a quick nap," said Trono.
She said many of the people who use the mats are addicted to meth. They stay up all night walking the streets, then need a safe place to sleep during the day.
"[Meth is] very cheap and available, and if you have no place to go at night, if you smoke some meth or shoot some meth, you can keep going all night … you don't have to lie down in a bus station and get kicked out," she said.
"The meth is an escape for them, an escape from reality, from mental health, homelessness and poverty."
Because the facility doesn't have a separate room for the mats, people curl up on the floor along the walls of the drop-in.
'People have no place to go'
Trono said not everyone who uses the mats is a meth addict.
"We have a woman here who is in her 70s and has no place to go, she's got a walker and she's sleeping here," said Trono.
"People have no place to go."
About 100 people visit the drop-in centre every day. They come for food, coffee and to visit with friends.
The centre helps connect people with services, and offers laundry and shower facilities, but recently had to close the shower because people were using it inappropriately.
CBC cameras captured needles and drug paraphernalia next to the mats.
Trono said safety can be an issue, because there isn't any security on-site, but they try to find a balance between having compassion for users and keeping the peace.
'It's not just alcohol anymore'
Tony Henderson is at the drop-in centre daily, both as a patron and a volunteer.
He says the meth problem shouldn't be left to places like the ministry to handle, because the staff aren't equipped to deal with it.
"Can't just have any John Doe that gets paid," he said.
"You got to know how to do the job properly. A lot of people they fall through the cracks."
Henderson has been sober for 32 years, and says things have changed over the years when it comes to addictions.
"It's not just alcohol anymore, it's drugs and now weed is legal. I think we are taking steps backwards not forwards," he said.
"They grind out pills, they shoot up and God knows what they do to their bodies."
Henderson said giving people a warm meal and a mat to sleep on won't help them get clean.
"If I knew about these places when I was drinking, I never would have got sober," he said.
"What's the deal about getting sober if I can eat for free, I can sleep for free?"
'Make this a priority'
Trono wants to see city politicians step up to the plate when it comes to dealing with the lack of addictions treatment spaces and shelter spaces.
"I would like to see the city take some responsibility for this situation," she said.
Trono said in other cities where city hall focuses on the issue, things improve.
"When the mayor is the champion and gets out there and says we're going to do something about this, things happen."
"We need a mayor that is going to make this a priority."
Trono invited the seven city council candidates for the area where the centre is located to come to the drop-in and see it for themselves.
The seat in the Fort Rouge - East Fort Garry Ward is up for grabs after Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, who has been the councillor there since 1998, announced she wouldn't be running for re-election.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
