Kenora, Ont., shelter slated to re-open this week

Kenora's homeless population will have one place to lay their heads starting this week, as the Kenora Service Hub is slated to re-open on Thursday.

The service hub, which was the city's emergency shelter, was shuttered in August to provide a 'reset' on the service, which came under fire by many in the city of 15,000, due to visible drug use, as well as security concerns outside of the shelter.

CBC Thunder Bay travelled to Kenora in September, to see first hand how the homeless were dealing with the closure of the shelter, as well as how the closure had changed the perceptions affecting homelessness in the city.

Jory Smith, a shelter patron was one of those who was displaced by the closure of the Kenora service hub. He had been using the shelter intermittently since being released from jail.

Smith is a drug addict, and said the shelter is needed to support those without a place to sleep, eat, or get support.

"I'm back to couch surfing. I stay at friends houses, but even a lot of the friends that I have [are] evicted, and that's because they're letting too many people stay there."

Smith said housing is at a premium in Kenora, and finding an apartment, especially if you have a criminal record, is nearly impossible. Since the service hub closed, temporary accommodations have been set up at the Jubilee Church and the Kenora Fellowship Centre.

Smith said while the shelter is needed, he admits there were problems with the facility's operation. Theft and violence were a problem.

"There was people fighting, there was a lot of things being stolen from lockers and from desks at each bunk kind of thing. Especially in the bag room where people had their bags."

Even with the issues, Smith said the shelter is necessary. The closure of the facility won't solve any of the underlying issues, he said, it will just push them elsewhere.

"There's probably a lot more of the lifestyle of drug use and alcoholism and mental health problems. It's definitely more visible, especially the drug use. Some people who are hopelessly addicted do not care if people see them or not. so, it's come to a point of like, if you take away everything from an addict to conceal his use, there's nothing to conceal his use, and they'll use anywhere."

Drug use, particularly crystal meth, Smith said, was out of sight, in Lila's Block, a building on Main Street South in Kenora. The block burned down in March, and since then, the drug use which happened inside the building had to move elsewhere.

The logical spot, said Smith, was outside the shelter, where many people from Lila's Block were displaced.

"Like I said before, it was all out there. There's places that people who need places to stay for their survival. Now there's people who might not make their next birthday. I actually know a woman who doesn't think she's going to make her next birthday. It's October 4th."

"There's a lot of homeless people. There's a lot, and even with the homeless shelter was open, there's still lots of people homeless. It's only going to be worse on the community."

CBC Thunder Bay will continue its look at the Kenora Service Hub this week on Superior Morning.