Some Estevan residents have raised concerns about a noticeable increase in unfamiliar individuals in the city. The discussion has focused on challenges linked to addiction, mental health, and public safety.
“I think homelessness might not be the proper term for it,” said Estevan Police Chief Jamie Blunden. “I think at the end of the day, we’ve seen an increase in individuals suffering from addiction and mental health.”
Blunden said local business owners have been reaching out to police more frequently to report incidents involving individuals experiencing mental health or addiction crises at their establishments.
“I don’t know if it’s homelessness that’s the issue, but I believe there’s an increase in business owners and individuals calling in respect to people suffering through some sort of mental health crisis or addiction."
In many cases, the people officers are dealing with may technically have a place to go but spend much of their day in public spaces.
“If they’re out on the street, they’re doing the same sort of action as they were inside the business,” Blunden said. “A lot of times, they do have a place to go to, but they’re not staying there enough throughout the day. They’re out in the public eye.”
Many of these individuals would benefit from access to treatment facilities, but space is limited.
With 36 years in policing and a seat on a national police advisory committee, he said this isn’t new and is something happening across the country.
"This isn’t something that’s just specific to Estevan or Regina. This is seen all across Canada,” Blunden said.
Police officers have few options when it comes to directly helping vulnerable individuals receive treatment.
“There’s not a lot that, as a police officer, we have at our disposal to be able to bring these individuals to the places that are required to allow them to get healthy and better,” Blunden said.
Blunden also expressed concern about outside influence in the community, including individuals who may take advantage of vulnerable people, especially those suffering from addictions.
“You know, there’s some issues there with people coming from Brandon to Estevan,” he said. “There are people that want to prey on the vulnerable, and that could cause an uptick in certain types of crimes. Historically, that’s what has happened in other communities.”
He stressed the importance of oversight and accountability when setting up support facilities.
“I think there’s got to be a strategy behind it. The individuals or the companies that are putting these facilities in place have to have the checks and balances not to allow those vulnerable people to be preyed upon by individuals looking to make a buck.”
While there are currently no specific statistics available on the number of homeless or vulnerable individuals in the community, a clear rise in calls to police from business owners and residents has been noted.
“I think there’s that threshold where businesses and community members are starting to speak up a little more about it,” Blunden said.
“First and foremost, the safety of everybody is really important. And those individuals in public—their safety is important to us. So, instead of trying to deal with homelessness or people suffering through an episode, the best thing to do is call the station. Phone the police and we’ll come down and deal with it.”
The Police and Crisis Team (PACT) is one of the tools officers use to assist vulnerable individuals in Estevan.
"If they see something, the best thing to do is just give us a call," said Blunden.