Volunteer group steps back from Halifax tent encampment site to allow for ‘resident-run system’

A 24-hour volunteer “vigil” at a Halifax encampment for unhoused people is ending, after the group says it received assurances from the city that there will be no more evictions.

The group Permanent, Accessible, Dignified and Safer (PADS) housing options, was created after Halifax Regional Police officers forcibly removed encampments around the city on Aug. 18. The day culminated with chaotic protests that led to two dozen arrests and officers pepper-spraying crowds.

For nearly 40 days now, PADS volunteers have been at Meagher Park — also known as People’s Park, the temporary tent city on Chebucto and Dublin streets. The volunteers have been providing security, food and water, while also working with the residents to discuss housing alternatives.

As of Sunday, the group says they have been promised by HRM that evictions will no longer happen at crisis shelters and encampments. So, the volunteers are taking a step back.

“We will hand over operations, basically, to the residents here who will make controls to their own self-governance, organize supplies,” says PADS volunteer, Amber Zaza.

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“And the volunteers will help with off-site needs as well as going toward the provincial and federal governments to get towards our affordable housing (goal).”

1:47 Some moved from Halifax encampments into hotel rooms told they must leave

PADS says Erica Fleck, HRM’s emergency manager, spent several hours on Saturday at the park, speaking with residents about their concerns.

Fleck was recently assigned a three-month role leading the city’s emergency response to homelessness.

Earlier this month, she told Global News the situation was a “crisis event.”

“It’s going to be a lot of input, a lot of planning, and not just one solution,” Fleck said at the time.

Zaza says there are currently 24 residents at the Meagher Park encampment, but that the numbers fluctuate. Some residents have found safe short-term options.

“I guess we’re handing it over now in good hands,” Zaza says.

“We really do trust this space here to keep safe and the people here to stay safe and cared for by the community and by the volunteers who still stay here and pop in and out.”

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HRM has arranged hotel accommodations for some, but PADS says current options are a “significant downgrade” from the initial promises.

— With files from Jesse Thomas and Alex Cooke