Residents of Coquitlam homeless encampment issued formal eviction notice

Residents of a homeless encampment in Coquitlam, B.C., are expected to move out on Thursday.

The encampment is located near a homeless shelter on Gordon Avenue, behind a medical clinic.

City staff have already expressed concerns about a spillover effect from the shelter onto the street.

The city said there have been hundreds of emergency service calls to the encampment over the past few years.

Last week, the city issued a formal eviction notice, effective Thursday morning, ordering all tents to be dismantled and personal items removed during the day.

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According to the City of Coquitlam, homelessness in the Tri-Cities has increased by 86 per cent since 2020 as challenges in areas such as housing affordability, poverty, mental health and addiction are increasing.

The city said that in Coquitlam there has been a loss of shelter and support services for the unhoused, including the permanent closure of the expansion shelter at the SureStay Hotel, which had provided approximately 20 to 35 beds, the reduction of temporary shelter beds at 3030 Gordon Avenue from 30 down to 12 beds and no emergency weather response location anymore.

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“The Province has not replaced the spaces lost,” the City of Coquitlam stated.

“The increasing number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness and the reduction of spaces and services, along with compounding affordability, mental health, and poisoned drug supply crises have contributed to the development of an encampment along Gordon Avenue.”

It is currently unknown where the residents of the encampment can relocate to.