Safe space for youth given 2-year extension

Despite some concerns by area residents, 24-hour youth safe space in Brandon will be allowed to operate for at least another two years, Brandon city council decided on Monday.

The facility at 450 12th St. has been operated by the Brandon Friendship Centre since 2025 and provides transitional housing and basic amenities for youth aged 16 to 26.

The approval will allow the city to get more data about benefits and drawbacks of the site before council considers longer-term approval.

“I think what we’re going to do is probably what should have been done the first time, is to actually track data better,” Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said after the meeting.

“Let’s get the data, let’s get the input from neighbours that are not opposed to these things. But just how can it be better?”

Council’s decision for a two-year conditional use came after more than an hour and a half of debate, presentations and questions to city staff, a safe space co-ordinator and two residents who objected to the centre’s current operations in the community.

The site’s management had applied for an “assembly area” designation following a one-year conditional use that expired earlier in the year.

The city’s planning commission recommended last month that council approve the application.

Jennifer Mateer, a nearby resident who spoke in opposition, said she didn’t want council to give the application full approval, but was happy with the two-year decision.

“I just really want the lodge to succeed in a way that means the neighbourhood can succeed, too,” Mateer said after the meeting.

“I think this can allow us a little bit more of a robust information-gathering period,” she added.

Garth Epp, who also lives near the safe space, said he has seen the consequences of having the facility on his block.

The home is alcohol and drug free, and Epp said that has led to drug use in the residential area.

“There has been a significant, definite and noticeable increase of crime happening on our block since the opening in March of 2025,” Epp told council. “We are constantly needing to be vigilant and on guard when opening gates, going for walks and opening our own front door.

“I can honestly say that I hate this, I wish I don’t have to be here. I’m upset that we as neighbours are forced to deal with this in the community.”

Epp said there has been a lack of security and supervision from the safe space, leading to calls to police.

He argued that permanent approval would have meant no recourse for nearby residents when it comes to issues.

He asked for council to move the facility outside the neighbourhood, toward a non-residential area. If that’s not possible, the city should keep the conditional use in place, he said.

Richard Greer, the centre’s co-ordinator, countered that it is a very active neighbourhood, as it is located only a few blocks away from the Victoria Avenue Liquor Mart, and that many people walk down their street all the time.

He said while he doesn’t discount that drug use or other problematic activities happen in the neighbourhood, those behaviours occur throughout the area and not just on the one block.

Greer added that if council voted against the safe space, it would mean the end of the facility and result in staff layoffs and the loss of a $1-million annual grant from the federal government. It would also have bigger repercussions for people who use the facility, he said.

Moving the facility would also not be financially viable, Epp said.

He told council that 183 youths have used the space since it opened.

A senior planner for the city, Andrew Mok, said his department’s analysis concluded that there was no data indicating that the safe space caused problems in the area.

Fawcett replied that council would like to see better data.

“I think we also appreciate the fact that this is the first — this is the only one in the city,” Fawcett said. “We probably did need to have some better measurables.

“We want it to succeed, but we also want the neighbourhood to succeed.”

Brandon police Chief Tyler Bates said more data is needed before making an important decision.

“I think it’s a sensible thing to take a step back and look at making sure all the data is available,” Bates said during the meeting.

Bates said the facility provides “tremendous benefits.”

Greer couldn’t be reached for comment on council’s decision.

» alambert@brandonsun.com