EDITOR’S NOTE: On Feb 8, 2023, Hamilton city council did pass a motion to continue the pilot mentioned in this story, in addition to a motion for an engagement process with the community to come up with new encampment protocols.
Despite councillors putting forward a motion to craft a new protocol dealing with city encampments, Hamilton opted to extend its current response pilot to the end of April.
The city’s 24/7 encampment response team, created in early 2022, involves outreach workers connecting with encamped residents experiencing homelessness and matching them up with city services and housing.
As of the end of December, that program had run its course.
A staff report signed by the city’s director of housing, as well as the director of bylaw services, recommended an extension of the pilot until the end of April at a cost of $350,000.
The general issues committee (GIC) voted in favour of the continuation which still needs to be ratified by council.
During the GIC meeting Wednesday, Coun. Cameron Kroetsch of Ward 2 downtown suggested looking at an alternative arrangement focusing on the human rights of those experiencing homelessness.
The city’s current protocol also enlists police and municipal law enforcement, typically enforcing evictions and camp dismantling, which has been under scrutiny from some community members.
The team has the ability to issue trespass notices against encampment residents within 12 to 72 hours of a first complaint.
Kroetsch suggested the city’s overall approach has not worked and that staff should meet with groups like HamSmart, Keeping Six and the YWCA to craft a new protocol, and report back to council.
“That’s a huge part of our learning here and we have to reflect on that,” Kroetsch explained.
“I think as governors understand, look, maybe we’re going in the wrong direction here. We have to do things a little bit differently.”
In January, advocates seeking safe housing shared their message in front of the GIC following actionable solutions suggested by city staff in two housing-focused reports presented to councillors.
READ MORE: Homeless encampments in Canada are on the rise. Experts urge ‘Housing First’ approach
About a half dozen delegates shared stories and messages encouraging the creation of programs dealing more with accommodation and harm reduction as opposed to hiring a permanent coordination response team.
That team, as recommended in a 2022 encampment evaluation report, suggested several hirings to alleviate the ongoing problem, including taking on housing-focused street outreach workers, a parks supervisor, police officers and muncipal bylaw officers at a total cost of about $1.4 million.
Ward 13 Dundas Coun. Alex Wilson suggested “it’s time to draw a line under the sand” and forge an approach with the support of frontline service providers, harm reduction advocates and those living in camps.
“One of the things that we need to do moving forward is, we need a process that we’re proud of, a process that we can stand behind,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s what we have right now.”
City staff are expected to meet with community stakeholders to craft a potential encampment strategy and councillors are expected to revisit the matter in April.