Brandon pop-up park pilot project aims to support people who are unhoused

A new outdoor pop-up park pilot project in the heart of Manitoba's second biggest city will give people who are vulnerable a place of rest and reprieve.

The pop-up park in downtown Brandon will include porta-potties, a sheltered area and seating, said Shannon Saltarelli, the City of Brandon's community housing and wellness co-ordinator. The space is intended for daytime use only.

Consultations with local agencies, those with lived experience in downtown Brandon and others spurred the creation of the downtown pocket park. Shovels for the project hit the dirt in early September.

"It's a place where people can sit and congregate or visit with their community," Saltarelli said.

The hope is the park will help address the concerns of people congregating downtown in front of businesses, the transit depot, residential areas and other places.

A location in the 800 block of Pacific Avenue was selected for the new project, Saltarelli said, because it is city-owned land and near where the majority of Brandon's vulnerable population are typically located.

A key aspect of the project has been providing access to bathrooms.

The request for additional 24/7 washrooms in the downtown area is something that has been "heard loud and clear" from the downtown community, Saltarelli said. The nearest washrooms to the pop-up park are in Princess Park, several blocks north of the new space. However, these bathrooms are not open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If positive feedback is received about the pilot project, the city will look at further enhacing the area and making it more permanent in the future.

"Brandon has seen quite an increase in the amount of people coming into the community that are experiencing homelessness," Saltarelli said. "There's so many basic human needs that are not readily accessible for somebody who doesn't have a place to go home during the day."

CBC News spoke with several vulnerable people living in downtown Brandon. Some were in support of the new park, as it offered a space to sit as well as bathrooms that are more easily accessible. Others raised concerns that the space could become unsafe if it is vandalized or filled with drug paraphernalia, including sharps.

Harold Reid has been living in a condo building in downtown Brandon for four years.

He thinks the new pop-up park will benefit the community, but he adds more support and resources are needed for those living in precarious situations.

"They still need some place to sleep at night — like, I can't imagine sleeping on the ground on the pavement, it's getting colder," Reid said.