Lethbridge Soup Kitchen director hopeful but concerned about city bylaw amendment

Lethbridge City Council has amended a bylaw that focuses on development and zoning of land by the shelter. The executive director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen says he is hopeful that it will help improve the issue surrounding the homeless population in our city. Bill Ginther says he does have some concerns about the amended bylaw, however.   

“It serves to effectively lump all services into one area, which I don’t like, only because what we’re doing is we’re segregating a certain part of the population and then say, you must live here. And that, to me, is not inclusive. What it becomes is, like, in my words, the ghetto where you push all services for homeless people into one area, and this is where you belong. There’s no other place we want to have you. Because if we try that, then somebody will be opposed.”

Council amended the bylaw at the July 11th meeting. It doesn’t require permits for facilities in the area to be redeveloped to help serve our homeless population.