Dear Editor
I went to a shelter after being gutted by fire. Outside it states Night Shelter. What does Night Shelter mean, if not just what it says? The ordeal began last Wednesday. On Thursday I left to get my business done then returned late as I was also looking for another accommodation. On Friday an altercation with a senior staff member. Saturday I was accosted by another who told me that my statement to him is why I flipped and ended up in there. Evidently the Management did not see it fit to inform the relevant staff that the two new entrants were a stranded traveler and someone affected by fire, knowing full well that the main population are of another label. Was this negligence or deliberate ineptness. I left again and returned only to collect my items and leave permanently. I was asked to complete a Form to release when I had not completed one to enter. Upon entering the vicinity is spewed with garbage a week delayed. The area is like a pig’s trough with rotting food to greet you. The specific dorm is overcrowded, to my estimation, with 32 then 2 more sharing three shower cubicles with waste water backing up on you. Three toilet cubicles, one boarded up, one malfunctioning and only one half functioning. There is a constant stench of raw sewage filling the dorm and poisoning the residents. Asked about communication with the outside world and was told ‘no internet’, although we can see that there are two services to the facility and one specifically labeled Night Shelter. My particular peeve was that when it is morning there is much drama and trauma to get to leave.
I was told that I was a ward of the state and therefore cannot leave as I feel.
Night shelters the world over are for just that. a refuge for the period of darkness. You are free to go where you want during the day. It seems that this facility is for persons with peculiarities who cannot be allowed freedom but the management cannot make the distinction between the two or more categories of residents they have bundled into one facility, and in my case, one dorm. With various character traits housed in one space, it becomes a threat to limb and life as it is very clear that some of the people there have mental issues. There are no security checks on reentering the premises and anything can be brought in and used as a weapon. There are no medical staff on duty after 6.30 pm although, clearly, some residents have medical complaints.
Things got to a head with me when I sat to prepare and identify the emergency protocols. Yes there are 2 fire extinguishers but no team leader assigned to use them or to move the residents out of the dorm in the event of an emergency. When I checked the exits the back was padlocked and someone outside of the dorm had the key. When I asked about the status of the front door, I was told that it is bolted on the outside at 8 pm. When I approached the warden he told me he has rules and they work to rules. I asked him to call his Manager so that I can tell her I wish not to be locked in a room bolted on the outside. He refused. That was the limit. This level of ignorance will cost people their lives. I shall not be a statistic when I just survived an inferno because of the same ineptness.
People managing facilities with many persons but do not have a clue about the very basic safety measures that should be in place and are happy to continue being ignorant. They harvested persons from the streets during the last cricket extravaganza and still have them captive there. This is NOT a night shelter. Staff seem petrified to even call her to let her know that someone thinks different about her modus operandi. To get out Saturday, I had to escape while a security was changing shift and leaving. I refused to sleep in any space with the door bolted outside and 34 ramping humans at one exit in the event of a fire.
The Ministry of Human Services needs to look into this operation and rethink what is a Night Shelter and whether that is what this facility is, was intended to be or it is deliberately misleading the public.
Sincerely,
(Name and Address Provided)
