Relief flooded residents of a large homeless camp in Kitchener, Ont., This week after a community of more than 40 people learned they would be allowed to stay – though it’s unclear how long.
The Waterloo region, which owns the land where the camp is located, has said it will not forcibly clear a collection of tents in the city center, but instead plans to go to court to force residents to leave.
The region has issued eviction notices on June 6, warning residents to leave by Thursday, when they will be deemed violated.
Some residents said they were worried there would be a repeat of what happened in Toronto last summer, when violence erupted as police moved to forcibly demolish such camps.
The postponement is “really good news,” said Jen Draper, who has lived with her partner, Will House, since December.
“I feel good, but they say they need to seek legal advice, so I’m not sure what that means.
“I’m happy, but I wouldn’t leave anyway,” House said.
The Waterloo region has said it will take legal action if residents do not leave by Thursday.
Regional President Karen Redman told the Canadian Press that the region would not forcibly evict residents from the camp, but would apply to the Ontario Supreme Court if they did not vacate its property.
“We wanted them to know that we are serious, but we have always intended to go to court and the trial will allow all parties to broadcast what they think is the preferred way forward,” she said.
Redman said that while space in shelters and motels is limited, there is room for camp residents.
Since 2021, 508 people have moved from homelessness to permanent housing, 190 households at risk of eviction have remained in their homes with funding for overdue rents and 2,626 households have avoided shelter through the regional housing prevention and diversion program. , she said.
About 1,000 people are currently living on the streets of the region, Redman said, adding that they have offered camp residents a place somewhere inside.
Proponents, however, say there is not as much space as is said in the region, citing a nearby site in a church that was recently closed.
“It’s just moving the deck chairs around,” said Michelle Mortansen of the outreach group GoingMobileKW.
And some in the camp, including Draper and House, say they have never been approached by the region for shelter.
“I’d take a motel room if they offered it,” House said. – It would be nice to have my own bathroom.
The couple first arrived on the scene in December. They were left homeless in May 2021 after arguing with a friend from whom they rented a room.
Since then, they have been entering and leaving shelters, living on the streets for several months and in the bushes for several weeks, they said.
In early December, they found themselves in front of a soup kitchen. But that didn’t continue either when they moved to the ground across the street, they said.
House, who has been unable to work for years after breaking his back, helped build a makeshift home.
The upper part is covered with heavy masonry, insulated by blankets placed against a retaining wall made of large stones. Inside there is a bed and a sofa and a “closet”, which is more like a place to crawl.
In March, several others appeared and pitched tents, the couple said. Soon after, it grew from a few tents to 20, Draper said.
In the last few months, they have managed to build a community in which they care for each other, she said.
There are several dining tables, sunbeds, barbecues and a donation table for outreach workers who come day and night with food, medicine and clothing.
“A lot of us don’t have families or their families have turned their backs on us, but we found one here,” Draper said.
“So I think we’ve created that feeling when you walk out the door to go somewhere, you know someone cares that you come back.
Britney O’Donnell has been living in the camp for the past month. She has experienced violence in shelters and her belongings are routinely stolen. “It’s much better here, nobody steals my things,” she said.
O’Donnell, who previously worked as a nurse, has three children. One day, when her youngest daughter was two years old, her partner gave her Percocet, an opioid painkiller, she said.
“I felt like a super mother,” she said. “I could go down and play for hours with my daughter and the house was clean, like spotless.”
She started taking OxyContin, another opioid painkiller, and finally fentanyl, she said.
“I was so dumb and naive and I feel so stupid,” the 37-year-old said through tears. “I miss my children. I want to clean up, but it’s so hard to find a cure.”
O’Donnell said she was afraid of shelters and had no idea where she would go if the region forced her to leave.
Redman, the regional chairman, said the region initially allowed the camp, as long as it didn’t get too big.
It crossed that threshold in early June, rising to nearly 60 people, Redman said. There were also concerns about the safety, criminal activity and health of residents, she said.
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said the homeless situation was dire and they desperately needed help from the province.
“The key here is that we need a plan that provides reasonable and meaningful alternatives for residents,” he said. – We have reached a crisis point.
The problem prompted the mayors of Ontario’s major cities – 29 mayors with a population of 100,000 or more – to call for an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Doug Ford to “counter the chronic crisis of homelessness, mental health, safety and addiction that is gripping our communities.” “
The Prime Minister’s Office did not return several requests for comment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 30, 2022.
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