Hamilton’s municipal law and licensing director says the city continues to engage residents occupying a plot of city hall property with a “housing first approach” to end the encampment.
Monica Ciriello told Global News bylaw and police officers taking down tents is something the city hopes to avoid but said the urgency to resolve the issue is there amid “a recent rash of fires” requiring some 20-plus visits from firefighters.
“There are health and safety concerns for the community, for members that are residing in the encampment and for city staff,” she said.
“These are concerns that we take very seriously and want we want to ensure that we’re addressing.”
When asked, Ciriello did not acknowledge the existence of a specific teardown date for those who are non-compliant, only saying housing staff, a social navigator and Hamilton police have been attending the site four to five times a week.
“I do know that we do have some shelter capacity available for individuals that would like to take the city up on that offer,” she said.
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Council touched on the circumstance again Wednesday morning, hearing from the city manager that the housing first approach doesn’t have a “neat and tidy timeframe.”
“They’re working with individuals that all have very unique needs, different circumstances, etc., and so they look at how to best engage,” Janette Smith said.
“Sometimes that engagement takes a bit of time to build up that trust.”
Downtown Coun. Cameron Kroetsch, whose Ward 2 is hosting several of the city’s estimated 100 encampment sites, characterized the ongoing uncertainty as “really difficult.”
“I’m just saying the impact of the communication falls to the councillor’s office,” he said.
“Again, I’m not able to effectively represent people, answer residents’ questions, and I’m left there kind of sitting and waiting.”
General manager of healthy and safe communities Angie Burden said 38 individuals connected with Whitehern have signed consent forms allowing outreach teams to work with them on alternative accommodations.
“We continue to have demand for shelter and housing that far exceeds our capacity and we have a strained system right now,” Burden said.
“So the team is doing what they can do and balancing that housing first approach along with health and safety concerns that have been raised as well.”
The CEO of the non-profit that operates a Hamilton women’s drop-in says trying to locate former residents in need after the dismantling of an encampment is typically the “hardest part” of any outreach effort.
It’s a reality YWCA CEO Medora Uppal says her group may soon face following issuing of voluntary removal notices late last week to some 3o-plus residents camped out behind city hall.
“There’s a massive part of this whole situation that’s the mental health aspect, and some individuals need that to be addressed,” Uppal told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.
“I think we have a lot of great agencies and staff working in mental health who could provide the help, (but) the reality is that there isn’t enough services.”
Encampments in Hamilton became magnified during the COVID-19 era, with several tents popping up in city parks and other municipal properties during the pandemic.
The problem peaked in 2021 after a fire at J.C. Beemer Park and a superior court battle between the city and a group of residents over the removal of encampments.
Uppal says Carole Anne’s Place is preparing for the potential displacement of the Whitehern residents who could wind up on the doorstep of their drop-in spaces, soon.
Since March 2020 they’ve counted some 700 individuals using YWCA and partner outreach services in the last three years, with Carole Anne’s numbers moving from an average of 30 a day to up to 60.
Women’s drop-ins at Willow Place have also jumped by similar amounts in recent times, now at about 60 and 80 a day.
A new protocol for dealing with encampments is to be presented to city councillors during a committee meeting next Wednesday.
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