At the northern end of the Meadowbrook neighbourhood, there are train tracks I remember crossing as a child and are now fenced. Just past the tracks is the homeless shelter at 3030 Gordon. Speaking with residents in the neighbourhood, I felt encouraged to hear stories of their interactions with the homeless and drug users that live at 3030 Gordon. Many of the residents shared their care, concern, and neighbourly relations. They also shared some ideas: that the next expansion of low-barrier housing and homeless shelters should be at the Riverview lands, that there should be more services, and that the residents should be paid to clean up drug paraphernalia around the area. Recently, though the residents have not seen so much drug paraphernalia and litter and one resident told me about a homeless woman leading a clean-up crew on a volunteer basis. Some people I talked to in Meadowbrook disagree with the low-barrier approach, saying that it has gone too far. And many of the residents said we needed more services for homeless people and drug users. I stopped by the shelter to get a photo and spoke to a few people who were out front. They told me that when the shelter/housing project first opened there were more services, including food and they need more support from the community. I would like to learn more about this population and what’s going on here at 3030 Gordon. What do you think our city should do for homeless people and drug users?
