Group home for youth approved in Bonnyville residential area

A group home for troubled youth could be opening in Bonnyville. 

As part of the municipal planning commission’s portion of the Bonnyville town council meeting last Tuesday, council agreed to approve Faith In Roots’ intention to open a group home. 

They approved changing the zoning from a Single Family Residential to a Group Home on a property on 42nd Avenue. 

“We feel that there is a need for this type of group home in the Town of Bonnyville and we did go ahead and agree to that permit and bring that business to our town,” said mayor Elisa Brosseau.  

Councillors had many questions, which were fielded by co-owners Kelly and Darren Morton, during the meeting. 

Focussing on youth up to 17-years-old, there will be 24-hour staff at the site, with one staff member for every four youth that are in their care. The Town stipulated there can be no more than six total residents (which includes staff).

There will also be security and surveillance in the home to mitigate potential unruly behaviours. 

There is a screening process in place for the youth that will be going to the dwelling, which depends on behaviours, mental health, and physical limitations. They will not be accepting anyone with a criminal records. 

This will be Faith in Roots’ pilot project, with a specific focus on First Nations culture and teachings.

Feedback, concerns

There was a total of 40 notification letters mailed out to nearby homeowners to receive their feedback. 

Some concerns highlighted included an increase in crime, more traffic, disrupting the neighborhood, or a decrease in property value. 

Many of the responses returned wanted council to deny the request. 

“We are constantly under being monitored by obviously through Tribal Chiefs and through AHS as well,” said Darren Morton, vice-president. 

“We’re also going to have licensing [sic] that will be coming in and out of the home unannounced. We are going to have counselors that come to the home unannounced as well. I do believe you guys take a visit once a year and there’s also going to be staff on site 24 hours a day, as well as video cameras,” said Kelly Morton, president.

“If a child comes into the home that has not displayed any behavioral issues, and then all of a sudden, there’s behavioral issues, then obviously there’s an underlying issue, which then the play therapy comes into play. That is something that we would then document and try to redirect anything to continue,” she said.

The vote finished 6-1 in favour of approving the application.

Councillor Neil Langridge referenced a similar application in North Battleford in 2019, which he said he checked in for research on the subject.

“They just renewed the license for another five years, but with traffic they saw no uptick because it’s similar to a single family dwelling, and the other was property value and they have not seen any decrease in their property values,” he said at the meeting.

Councillor Kayla Blanchette also compared to this usage to similar to how a family would run in a household.

“They say this home will be operated no different than any family home and that stuck out to me because I based on everything we’ve reviewed — I agree. I don’t expect anyone to answer this when I ask it, but what’s the difference between this group home staffed by two adults serving for us and a two parent family and four kids living in the neighborhood?”