Province pledges funds for Thompson sobering centre
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/06/2020 (2000 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
THE City of Thompson is welcoming provincial funding for its first sobering centre, seeking to “take some weight off of our health-care system.”
Manitoba has set aside $2.8 million towards the northern city’s initiative.
“Sobering centres offer an effective alternative to police- and hospital-based responses to public intoxication, while keeping Manitobans safe,” Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said Monday. “This centre will provide a safe setting for individuals needing short-term recovery.”
In 2019, Thompson RCMP dealt with more than 2,000 people under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Chris Hastie said, once up and running, the sobering centre will allow police to focus on more serious calls.
“We’re constantly getting public intoxication calls, and it takes our resources away and pulls them in two different directions,” said Hastie. “It’s long overdue for the City of Thompson and its residents.”
Thompson has a high crime rate and ranks No. 1 of 239 Canadian cities over the population of 10,000 in the Crime Severity Index for violent crime. The ranking is based on per-capita measurements; Thompson has held the No. 1 spot since 2010.
Hastie said local police logged four aggravated assault cases in the past four or five days.
Currently, when RCMP bring people into the station for public intoxication, they are put into one of three holding areas. Hastie said each cell can accommodate 10 to 15 people.
Mayor Colleen Smook said the new centre is a step in the right direction to reduce crime in Thompson, but also allow people to get the help they need.
“It’s a really exciting day for Thompson,” said Smook. “The capacity will be there to take people off the street and give them a safe space to sober up, get some counselling, clean up.”
Once active, the sobering centre will make things easier for some professions throughout the city.
“There will still be intoxicated people out there causing issues,” said Smook. “But those who just need to be brought in and sleep it off will take some weight off of our health-care system.”
The potential is there for the sobering centre to help reduce crime, the mayor said, but the city will also implement further initiatives in order to make Thompson a safer place to live.
The centre is still in Phase 1 of becoming a reality; Smook expects Phase 2 to begin once COVID-19 restrictions in Manitoba allow for larger gatherings. Phase 2 will involve talking with the community about what it expects from the sobering centre.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of interaction, so I think we have to figure out how to hold a large gathering first,” she said.
kellen.taniguchi@freepress.mb.ca