The Mustard Seed seeks new location for Medicine Hat shelter on South Railway

The Mustard Seed says the proposed location would differ from a traditional drop-in centre, focusing on specific supports and navigation services in one centralized location.

A rezoning application is now subject to municipal and provincial regulatory processes.

The organization said the City of Medicine Hat is assisting with the process, including considerations around land use planning, public safety and community development.

“We are pleased to be working towards a new location for our operations in Medicine Hat,” The Mustard Seed CEO James Gardiner said in a news release.

“We look forward to continuing to work alongside our many agency partners to bring hope and well-being to Medicine Hat’s most vulnerable.”

The organization said it will provide further information about the proposed Medicine Hat location on its website as the application progresses.

A proposed timeline The Mustard Seed has posted on its website shows a location announcement in October followed by fundraising efforts, the building purchase, and renovations beginning in December 2026.

The group lists neighbourhood outreach and door knocking scheduled for Oct. 12 to 15, with an initial Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Oct. 21.

They have also provided a survey to collect feedback.

In September 2025, The Mustard Seed withdrew a request to change 2055 Saamis Dr. NW into a shelter location.

The City of Medicine Hat and The Mustard Seed stated at the time that they received numerous inquiries and concerns related to the appropriateness of the site for both users and surrounding properties and businesses.

The search process has also included input from the Alberta Government to find a permanent shelter location.

Surveys and input collected from residents by the City of Medicine Hat included several suggested locations.

Recommended by over 14 per cent of those who suggested a site was the North/South Railway Area.

The City had ruled out several locations as not viable for various reasons.

The Mustard Seed currently operates a shelter in Medicine Hat at 737 Eighth St. SE; however, it lacks several services the Community Impact Centre, which closed on Feb. 28, 2025, had provided.

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READ: Mustard Seed closes Medicine Hat daytime centre permanently (Feb. 28, 2025)

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The closure of that Allowance Avenue location satisfied complaints of residents in the area over the behaviour of those who used the site.

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READ: ‘Start expecting a war’: Enraged Medicine Hat residents share frustrations over Mustard Seed locations (Jan. 8, 2025)

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During a January 2025 town hall, residents voiced strong concerns about crime, drug use, theft and other disturbances they say were related to the location in the Flats neighbourhood.

A key part of the search process for The Mustard Seed has been the desire for an all-in-one location.

The Mustard Seed has operated since 1984 and provides services in several Alberta communities, as well as in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

by Jesse Gill

The Mustard Seed seeks new location for Medicine Hat shelter on South Railway

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