Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Peace River and region residents are being invited to attend a Community Workshop to Address Downtown Peace River Challenges.
The workshop is being held on May 22 starting at 6 p.m., with doors to the Sagitawa Friendship Centre opening at 5 p.m.
“We invite residents to join us for an important community workshop focused on identifying and addressing challenges affecting the downtown core of Peace River, particularly those related to complex mental health, addiction, and homelessness,” explains Peace River councillor and Peace Region Mental Health and Addiction Task Force team member Marc Boychuk.
“We already have a great group of government and local agency representatives and leaders attending, and the event is open to the whole community so we can work together to resolve the issues.”
The community workshop is a facilitated session that is meant to bring together a range of voices and expertise to brainstorm community-driven solutions for the issues the town is facing.
At this juncture, attending will be Alberta Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams, Town of Peace River Mayor Elaine Manzer, the rest of Peace River council and administration, RCMP members, Canadian Mental Health Association, the Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association president, Recovery Alberta leadership, regional municipal leaders and councils, Sagitawa Friendship Society leadership and board members, and others.
“We need to work together to find a solution for the key issues,” says Boychuk.
“We hope to clear up any misunderstandings and misinformation, that those making decisions will be there and see and hear first-hand the situation is. We are hoping to find resolutions to end what we are seeing in our community around homelessness, crime, vandalism and hardships on people and businesses.”
All community members are welcome to attend, if they are interested. Boychuk says the facilitated workshop will feature round table discussions in smaller groups so that everyone has a chance to speak.
“We are hoping to get a clear understanding of what system changes are needed and what services are needed,” Boychuk explains.
“This is a chance to for our local business and community partners and members to have a say inthe changes needed so they can feel safe, and to put plans in place to end homelessness and support the agencies in our region.”
Boychuk says the mental health 911 calls have doubled since last year and they continue to climb.
“Serious incident rates are going up considerably and more and more people are reporting incidents that require police,” he notes.
“The shelter is being used by almost 20 more clients a night than two years ago, and the demand on our soup kitchen and food bank have risen considerably.”
Boychuk explains the community of Peace River has lost over 100 apartment units to fires, effectively reducing the number of affordable housing in the community.
“We are working hard to stay on top of encampments while increasing patrols and manpower in the downtown core,” he says of solutions that have been put in place so far.
“There are concerns around the operation of the shelter, and we are hoping to clarify and correct the misinformation and confusion of who is causing crime in the downtown core and businesses.”
Boychuk adds there are businesses owners being hit with crime and expenses that are causing financial and mental distress. The Town and community groups recognize this and are hoping to find solutions to help the people who are being affected.
“It is important and imperative to work together and have clear communication around resolving the issues,” he says.
“We need people to attend so they can have input and speak on the issues they are facing. We are trying to get all the decision makers we can in the room so we can come up with actionable solutions.”
Boychuk says the Mental Health and Addiction Task Force Team has been and will continue to advocate for the small northern towns to bring more services and supports that are needed in the community, including everything from more medical staff to housing supports.