The executive director of The Gathering Place is responding to information shared on social media suggesting that some guests are being kicked out of the facility for no specific reason.
Paul Davis says people are welcome to express their views, but sometimes social media conversations can result in the spread of inaccurate information.
Davis says guests are required to adhere to a couple of basic requirements when accessing services at The Gathering Place.
Paul Davis
He says the basic rules are “respect yourself, respect others and respect the space.” Davis says if someone stops doing that, then there are a number of possible actions that can be taken. He cites as an example someone who may be making others in the social room feel unsafe.
“We have to ask that person to leave. And it might be, go for a walk and cool off, it might be a service restriction that extends into several days. The idea of it is to be restorative and bring the person back into the space, but they have to understand that we do have rights and responsibilities and we have to protect the greater good.”
He says staff at The Gathering Place meet regularly with guests to get an understanding of their needs and what they like, and don’t like.
Guests have the right to access services and have a right to have a say in what those services are says Davis. He and his colleagues meet with a group of guests roughly once a month to hear from them about whether there is anything they’d like to see done differently.
