The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the City of Lethbridge in many ways, one of which includes a noticeable increase in illegal encampments and “rough sleeping” in the downtown area.
The city says this increase is largely caused by COVID-19 restrictions at shelters.
“Rough sleeping is more of just someone sleeping in a sleeping bag or on a mat, or just sleeping on the ground,” said Andrew Malcolm, urban revitalization manager for the City of Lethbridge.
“We often get calls for encampments through our encampment removal program,” he added.
When a call to report a person sleeping rough is made to the Safe Community Call Centre, a Diversion Outreach Team (DOT) member is dispatched to investigate.
“We definitely try to be proactive and work with our business community,” said David Gabert, communication lead for CMHA Alberta South.
The city says encampments do lessen in the winter, however, the cold season presents its own unique challenges as an increase of break-ins into vacant buildings tends to occur.
One city official says completed renovations at Lethbridge’s stabilization centre and shelter — Alpha House — is expected to help.
“We just finished renovating the shelter, so one of the issues in wave one of COVID(-19) is the building was under renovation — so since then, the renovation has been complete,” said Martin Thompson, community and social development manager for the City of Lethbridge.
Thompson added that since people who resort to “rough sleeping” are facing homelessness and addiction in some cases, it’s important to have ongoing and adequate social supports in place to address the underlying issues.
Thompson also said encampments and “rough sleeping” present very poor living conditions, which can increase risk of transmission of several illnesses, which is why securing stable living conditions and housing — coupled with social supports — is the best response.
Alpha House sent Global News a statement in relation to the concerns on Wednesday.
“Alpha House’s pandemic response has been continually adjusted and adapted to prioritize the safety of staff and clients and to ensure we are following all public health guidelines,” the statement reads in part. “Our shelter staff has seen an increase in ‘rough sleepers’ or individuals who are camping outside since early spring, in part because of COVID-19 and the reduced capacity at shelters across Alberta, which was undertaken to increase physical distancing in communal spaces.
“We are aware that as the weather worsens and we approach winter months, there will be an increase in individuals using the shelter systems.
“In recent weeks, whenever the weather dips, our Lethbridge shelter has been at capacity. For reference, the shelter’s normal capacity (outside of COVID-19) is 111. To accommodate physical distancing protocols, that capacity is currently at 81. As part of Alpha House’s efforts to keep clients and staff safe, we are undertaking a variety of different initiatives in anticipation of colder weather.
“Some of those initiatives include:
- New and increased daily programming at the shelter to engage with clients and encourage them to stay indoors
- Additional staff to increase our street response in Lethbridge so as to connect with individuals who are sleeping rough
- Additional space to increase shelter capacity
“We also hope to continue working with the province and the City of Lethbridge to increase collaborative services for vulnerable individuals and to ensure supports are available to those who need them.”
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