Planned Carmichael Outreach move upsets some

A planned move by Carmichael Outreach, a community-based charity that helps people with a variety of needs, is raising concerns among some people in the proposed new location.

Currently just on the edge of Regina's downtown on Osler Street, the agency is hoping to move about two blocks placing it deeper into the city's Heritage neighbourhood.

Carmichael has a number of programs, from providing meals and clothing to offering a needle exchange.

There's a ripple effect that's coming already from that area of town.- Calvin Becker-Burns

Calvin Becker-Burns, who lives in the area andsupports Carmichael and what it does, said there are risks associated with it being in a residential area.

"There's a ripple effect that's coming already from that area of town," Becker-Burns said. "If they move down here, that ripple effect is going to keep going down here and spreading to our residential neighbourhood a little further and we really don't want to see that happen."

An official from Carmichael said they have outgrown their current space and the move to the corner of 12th Avenue and St. John's Street would be made with the neighbourhood in mind.

"We want to make sure that we're building a neighbourhood that's safe for everybody," Tyler Gray said. "That's a key piece of what we work towards every day the safety of the people we serve, but also the safety of the neighbourhood that we're in."

The agency provides almost 60,000 meals over the course of a year.

The proposed new location, a vacant building that was home to number of organizations over the years, is zoned for residential uses. There is an application seeking approval from city hall to rezone the property to allow for a mix of uses that would include a facility providing humanitarian services.