The director of housing services says sanctioned tents at a yet-to-be-designated site in Hamilton are aimed at not only keeping track of those experiencing homelessness in the city but also offering dignity for those relegated to encampments.
With an estimated 100 encampments across the city as of mid-May, Michelle Baird says zoned sites with five tents at each location not only addresses sheltering needs but also reduces potential noise complaints, garbage issues and conflicts within encampments.
“It allows us to know where individuals are staying so that we can effectively provide case management (and) service providers know where to find individuals,” Baird told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.
“We would also want to see some infrastructure provided so that people have services to meet their basic human needs.”
The proposal was brought forward via a pair of sessions to create a protocol dealing with Hamilton’s growing homeless population and meet the need to provide supports and services.
Creating designated sites for tents would also help the city keep a commitment to uphold the human rights and dignity of those in encampments while providing relief for residents and businesses affected by so-called tent cities.
The idea would allow for three-by-three-metre areas for individual tents with a total area for five tents not exceeding 45 square metres.
Staff would also work with stakeholders to address washrooms, showers and access to drinking water.
Tents would not be allowed within 50 metres of another encampment, a school or a public space like child-care centres, pools or playgrounds.
Setting up on civic museum or heritage facility grounds or at sports fields, beaches or cemeteries would be prohibited.
The idea has some similarities to a tiny shelters program pitched in 2022 by a Hamilton-area group that continues to struggle with council approval amid failures to find suitable locations for the scheme.
Baird says the difference between the two concepts is the number of people that could potentially be accommodated since sanctioned encampments would not be limited to a structure for just one person.
“We also don’t want to just have one large encampment, it probably won’t meet the needs of everybody,” Baird said.
“So ideally … three or four encampment sites that are sanctioned in different parts of the city.”
The report is set to come before councillors on Wednesday, with some already expressing their support or lack of it via social media.
Ward 8 Coun. John-Paul Danko said he was “skeptical” of the idea, suggesting it could negatively affect residents who would have to endure potential “drug use, trash and disruption” near their homes.
“A site for tiny shelters couldn’t be identified — what chance is there for agreement on encampments?” he added.
One of the largest homeless encampments in the city is right under the noses of municipal politicians next to city hall and Whitehern Historic House at MacNab and Hunter streets.
Some 3o-plus residents are at the site and all have been given eviction notices by city officers within the last week.
YWCA CEO Medora Uppal, whose group was a part of the recent consultations, says an example of urgency with the city’s homeless population is the sheer numbers using their outreach services, about 60 people a day.
“And that’s comparable to our partner drop-ins,” Uppal said.
“At Willow’s Place during the daytime, their numbers are going up to 60 and 80 a day.”
Baird says that’s the story at outreach centres across the city — capacity issues coupled with barriers for some who have special needs.
If approved, next steps for the initiative would see staff study jurisdictions that have operated sanctioned encampments to assess operating models, parameters and criteria for site identification.
Waterloo Region is an example, having created space by permitting certain encampments following an update of its homelessness response plan in August 2022.
“Some other municipalities are in the same place as us and allowing for sanctioned encampments in a way to sort of address the needs of the community and address encampments,” Baird said.
“So it is a proposal that we’re putting forward and believe that it is the right opportunity for the city right now.”
If approved, staff are expected to monitor and seek public consultations during the spring and summer with final recommendations for an ongoing protocol at the general issues committee in August.