By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Chief Administrative Officer Tracey Vaughan spotlighted an ill-chosen sentence in a joint Cobourg-Northumberland County press release about the Warming Room that exemplified the issue that made Mayor Lucas Cleveland call the emergency council meeting for Friday at 4 p.m.
The press release was meant to showcase the collaboration between the two levels of government in providing this vital service, but Vaughan read aloud the troublesome sentence.
“While visitors are no longer required to remain awake, staff do conduct regular wellness checks that can be disruptive to continuous sleep.”
The upshot of the 83-minute meeting was a motion that might change the picture, stating the town’s support in allowing individuals to sleep in the Warming Room, “providing that the County of Northumberland is in compliance with all applicable laws.
“Further that, should the county choose, they can begin the process of requesting a change-of-use permit to bring the warming room into compliance with the building code and fire code, if the intention is to provide safe overnight accommodation that allows for sleeping.”
This will be discussed in greater detail at next week’s December meeting of Northumberland County council. As for the Friday meeting, Mayor Lucas Cleveland inveighed against the criticism the town has taken for not permitting sleeping in the Warming Room – when, as he said at a meeting of a county council committee last week, sleeping is forbidden by the Ontario Fire Code and that the town’s Emergency Care Establishment bylaw is merely a vehicle to ensure that it’s enforced.
Both Vaughan and Cleveland stressed at length that the town – as Cleveland put it – is pro-sleep.
The troublesome sentence in the press release spurred Vaughan’s retort that Warming Room clients have never been required to stay awake. What happens is that the security staff do frequent “wellness checks” to ensure that, should a fire or emergency develop, that person can be safely and quickly evacuated.
This is par for the building’s not being cleared under the fire code for sleeping whereas – by contrast – the county shelter at 310 Division St. can, under the fire code, allow its inhabitants to sleep through the night without wellness checks.
As the level of government mandated and funded to provide this service, the county lost the Warming Room on the ground floor when council voted to make 310 Division St. a higher-barrier shelter last summer.
Under the terms of the ECE bylaw, only two shelters can be licensed within the town at any time, which led the county on a search for alternate locations that involved potential sites in such communities as Colborne, Grafton and Fenella.
Cleveland let it be known at county council that the town might consider an exception to the bylaw to allow a Warming Room in Cobourg, provided it was on county property. In a vote between county properties at 555 Courthouse Rd. and 600 William St., county council opted for Committee Room A at the Courthouse Road location.
No mention was made at Friday’s meeting of allowing a Warming Room on a non-county owned property, or how the county might make one of its properties compliant with all codes that might permit sleeping.
Mayor Cleveland said he looks forward to discussing the matter further at the county council meeting on Dec. 17.
CAO Tracey Vaughan
“I want to be perfectly clear, both the Town of Cobourg staff and Council fully believe in meaningful and restful sleep in a safe and appropriate space that is in compliance with all applicable laws and designed to meet the needs of our unsheltered residents.
Since the opening of the Warming Room on November 27th, the Town of Cobourg has received numerous questions as to why we are not permitting guests of the warming room to sleep. This false narrative is causing confusion and detracting from issues need to be addressed.
There have been several correlations made to the Town of Cobourg ECE By-law, inferring that it prohibits persons from sleeping in the warming room. This is simply not true. Occupants were never required to remain awake. Regular wellness checks were to be conducted to always ensure that occupants were healthy and well, and could be readily and safely evacuated in the case of an emergency.The winter warming room is meant to give people a safe respite during the cold months. The program aims to reduce the risk of serious health problems such as hypothermia and frostbite by providing temporary respite from the cold for those who require it.
Because the Warming Room is located within a government building, which is not designed to include sleeping accommodations, provincial regulations, such as building code, fire code, and zoning, impact how the room can be used. Northumberland County provides shelter space, for those seeking shelter services at 310 Division Street, a facility that is designated for sleeping with all the necessary building systems that support and are designed to support safe meaningful sleep.
This week, Town of Cobourg staff worked with Northumberland County staff to address some of the false narratives regarding the warming room operations. The Town of Cobourg, to the degree that it can, as a lower-tier municipality, wishes to ensure that Emergency Care Establishments within its jurisdiction are healthy and safe for their residents.
It was our hope, that through a joint media release, we could address some of the misinformation regarding the warming room operations, while proving the joint commitment our two organizations have to working collaboratively in support of our residents. Unfortunately, the statement released today was not reflective of those discussions and contained information that was not an accurate reflection of the work done between both parties.
Sleeping has always been permitted in the warming room, however, regular wellness checks were always needed to ensure that at all times occupants remain healthy and well. In the absence of all of the detection systems that are required to be in place in a shelter system or other living accommodation, these wellness checks also ensure that all occupants can be safely evacuated if needed to ensure life safety.
At the time of their application, Northumberland County Social Services staff were aware of this requirement and submitted their application, indicating that regular checks would be taking place.
Staffing models and the intended use of buildings are critical factors in the safe evacuation of persons during an emergency. Upon recent inspection of the warming room, Municipal Law Enforcement staff indicated that the warming room was in compliance, checks were being conducted and proper legal requirements were being met.
The Town of Cobourg recognizes the pressure that Northumberland County staff carry as the social services provider. Our Staff carry the same responsibility to ensure the safe and dignified operation of ECE’s within our jurisdiction. Our staff take public safety very seriously and have repeatedly provided education to County Social Services staff in support of successful operations of their emergency shelters. Public trust and safety are the foundation of effective community services. Framing critical safety measures as burdensome or unnecessary serves only to erode the collective responsibility we all share in protecting our most vulnerable.”
