Tensions are rising in Abbotsford, where controversy about homeless encampments has moved to a popular park.
Some people sheltering in an encampment on BC Hydro land on Gladys Road have erected tents and a trailer in Babich Park as a protest after being evicted from the former site.
“Everyone deserves a place to be, and, sadly, there isn’t anything for someone who is down on their luck,” Langley Simpson, one of the people tenting in Babich Park told Global News. “$2,000 almost for a one bedroom is outrageous.”
Douglas Smith, a member of the Abbotsford Drug War Survivors, said the people being moved from Gladys Road have nowhere else to go.
“These people aren’t any different from me or you, the only difference is three paycheques,” he said. “You go without three paycheques where are you going to be? In trouble, homeless. It’s not just here in Abbotsford.”
However, the arrival of the encampment has left many in the community feeling unsafe using the park.
Neighbour Daniel Richardson said he’s uncomfortable with how close it is to a nearby K-5 school, and fears the encampment will draw drug users and the drug dealers that supply them.
“Mostly fentanyl, that’s my biggest concern,” he said. “Somehow ingesting that … in most cases they’re dead.”
Neighbour Allan Yates said he was worried the encampment would become entrenched.
“It starts like this, the tents look brand new,” he said. “But then before you know it there is needles everywhere, and everything goes missing in every garage and it’s just a quick race to the bottom.’
The city has begun working with community groups who had booked activities in the park’s fields to move them to other locations.
Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens said the city is talking with both the camp organizers and the provincial government in an effort to bring the situation to a “quick resolution.”
“This is a park that children play in, where people walk their dogs and they recreate, and I totally understand their concerns and their frustrations,” he said. “Please be patient, and any illegal activity please report it to the police.”
Camp organizers have distributed a letter to area residents asking them to sign a petition calling on the city to designate unused municipal land for homeless people to shelter on.
They’re also calling on the city to provide “appropriate facilities for individuals to access all basic needs.”
Richardson had another suggestion.
“My first thought was to go up them on City Hall property,” he said. “There’s a nice big park in between city hall, the library and the courthouse. That I think would give them possibly the exposure they need to make things happen.”
Some of the park’s neighbours have told Global News there will be a counter-protest at the park Friday night, with some vowing to take down tents.
They mayor called for people to let cooler heads prevail.
“We are cautioning people to bring the temperature down and let the process work,” he said.