Police vehicles were lined up outside Regina’s complex needs shelter as officers dropped off individuals taken into custody for the night as an alternative to jail. The shelters are designed to give people a place to sober up and receive treatment advice and supports, rather than spending the night in a police cell or emergency room.

“These are individuals that may be out on the streets and posing a harm to themselves or others, and really a police station isn’t the right place for them to sit in a cell, or even an emergency room for that fact,” said Mental Health and Addictions Minister Lori Carr. “So we take them to the complex needs shelters.”

A total of 4,800 people have spent the night at complex needs shelters since the first location opened a year and a half ago in a former seniors’ housing building in Regina. A second shelter later opened in a former Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority store in Saskatoon.

Work is now set to begin on a third complex needs shelter in Prince Albert, also planned for a former government liquor store location.

“We’ve just actually started the renovations to the building that that’s going to be housed in, and hopefully that’s up and running sometime this summer,” Carr said.

The provincial government contracted a private company to operate the Regina and Saskatoon shelters at a cost of $9.6 million for 18 months. Each facility has 15 beds. An operator has not yet been selected for the Prince Albert site.

The Saskatchewan NDP says the high usage numbers highlight the severity of addictions in the province.

“I think those numbers speak just to how pronounced that problem has become, and I’d be interested to see what the numbers are like in Prince Albert when and should it open,” said NDP Leader Carla Beck.

Regina Police say the shelters offer a positive alternative, connecting individuals with services that support recovery and healthier outcomes, and believe the program is making a difference.

Meanwhile, a bill currently before the legislature would allow for involuntary, court-ordered treatment for people with severe addictions. The province says it could be a next step for those who need more support than an overnight stay at a complex needs shelter.