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Community complaints prompted the city to remove the greenery around the Lions Park and Banff Trail LRT stations
One of several homeless encampments along the Bow River near Sunnyside is pictured on April 27, 2022. Gavin Young/Postmedia
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The number of homeless encampments is increasing and spreading across Calgary as city officials say they are stepping up efforts to deal with them.
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And those who help the homeless say they are concerned that Calgary’s recovering economy could increase the number of homeless people who are drawn to the city in hopes of finding work.
A two-person response team was added to two existing ones that work with Alpha House DOAP team members to monitor and assist homeless people who are living on the streets and in an increasing number of encampments, a bylaw official said.
“We’re definitely seeing an increase in encampments, especially along river banks,” said Damian Cole, chief of bylaws.
“We’ve had a steady increase in them over the last four or five years.”
Community complaints about social unrest that goes beyond homelessness to drug trafficking prompted the city to remove greenery around the Lions Park and Banff Trail LRT stations to the northwest to reduce cover for illegal activity.
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“At Lions Park, people were actually setting up tents and leaving behind drug paraphernalia and reaching out to people,” said Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong.
“I have several other communities asking, ‘Can we do this too?'”
They also discourage the homeless and drug dealers from congregating on LRT infrastructure, but some sites, such as the Tuscany LRT station far from downtown, have recently attracted some of those people, poverty advocates and Cole said.
“Some of (the homeless) think it’s safer because it’s farther from downtown,” said Philip Reiche, a spokesman for the Calgary Homeless Foundation.
Cole said some may consider areas away from downtown and homeless shelters to be safer because of concerns about COVID-19 in closer areas.
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Chief policy officer says more resources are needed to deal with encampments in Calgary
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Police are cracking down on a homeless encampment in the city center that they say served as a center for crime
“That’s another reason why we’ve expanded our work, because before it was more localized in the center.”
The main focus of the DOAP team is on encouraging those in the camps to move into shelters, he said, where they also have a better chance of being directed to more permanent housing.
“If they refuse, we ask them to move on, especially if they’re in a park area,” Cole said.
But he acknowledged that they sometimes face resistance from those living outside who fear for their safety in the shelters.
Those same concerns were voiced repeatedly last winter by residents of a tent village outside Calgary’s East Village accommodation centre, which was permitted by authorities last February due to rampant criminal activity.
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“Obviously we’re working closely with the shelters and they’re doing everything they can to keep them safe, but there’s fear,” he said.
But he said efforts to reduce outdoor camping haven’t been stepped up to create a more sanitized impression of Calgary for summer and Stampede visitors.
The number of homeless residents in Calgary has actually declined in recent years, from just under 3,000 in 2018 to just under 2,000 in 2021, the most recent count, officials with the Calgary Homeless Foundation say.
But Cole said they suspect those numbers could rise again as an improving economy attracts people without the means to support themselves, especially in a city with rising rental costs.
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“We’re going to see people come to Calgary looking for that job and in a short time they can’t find that place to live,” he said.
And in many cases, the personal issues facing members of this community are more severe, often struggling with mental, physical and addiction challenges, said Homeless Foundation President Patricia Jones.
One of several homeless encampments along the Bow River near Sunnyside is pictured on April 27, 2022. Gavin Young/Postmedia
“We’re dealing with people who are more difficult to treat, and we have to work together in a collaborative response, which has been phenomenal,” Jones said.
“People who experience homelessness and are afraid to stay in shelters are also victims of criminals.”
Social agencies, which include 30 outreach teams, are trying to find solutions for 85 homeless people age 65 or older, she added.
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“You can imagine the physical challenges,” Jones said.
Efforts by the city and nongovernmental agencies to get people off the streets and into housing, she said, aren’t taking a break this summer.
“We will not wait for a winter answer. We’re doing that right now,” Jones said.
But Wong said it’s not always the job of city officials to force encampment residents to move.
“During the summer, a lot of the vulnerable population likes to be outdoors and just want to be left alone,” he said.
“Unless they’re causing a public problem, it’s not our job to remove them.”
BKaufmann@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn
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