Volunteers stepped in to help to find temporary shelter in Peterborough after a storm struck a homeless encampment in Cobourg, Ont., late last week.
The encampment at the West Beach on the shore of Lake Ontario in Cobourg was struck by a storm, prompting some residents to step in to offer help to those experiencing homelessness.
Among them was Robert Horgan, a neighbour near the encampment, and a volunteer with a number of organizations including Tweak Easy which provides a safe space for substance users, and the Green Wood Coalition which helps people living with poverty, mental or physical illness or disability.
“When I came by in the morning and surveyed the damage and seeing the state they were in … we needed humanitarian aid,” he said Monday.
Horgan and other residents contacted the Canadian Red Cross to help find temporary shelter.
They were eventually able to organize a community shelter to transport 18 encampment members north to stay at a Motel Six in Peterborough over the weekend.
Encampment members declined to be interviewed when Global News visited the Lansdowne Street East hotel on Monday. However, one said it had been “uplifting” to see more community supports emerging in Cobourg.
Horgan says efforts like their group’s have been necessary as he says the town has had a “slow response” to the growing homeless issue.
“I’ve learned though my experience with the town and the (Northumberland) county, they are not moving fast enough on this,” he said.
The Town of Cobourg declined to comment on Monday. On Friday, the town and county announced a “coordinated” effort to resolve issues with the encampment including offering more supports from organizations.
The 18 individuals returned to their encampment site in Cobourg on Monday.
The Canadian Red Cross aim to meet with the individuals to conduct needs assessments to see what can be salvaged at the encampment following the storm.
Volunteers have also pitched the idea of relocating the encampment, possibly to county property, to better protect individuals from the elements.
Horgan says the move could also reignite a conversation about a tiny home community for the unhoused. However, so far Northumberland County council has twice struck down proposals for such a project.
In Peterborough, the city is building 50 modular homes which it plans to place on its Wolfe Street parking lots to address a growing encampment in that neighbourhood. The homes are expected to be ready by this autumn.
Horgan says whatever decision the town and county makes, he and others won’t halt their efforts to help.
“I’m not moving, my neighbours aren’t moving, so why don’t we just get along to the best way we can possibly be?” he said. “Why can’t we make it one per cent better every day? After 100 days we’re 100 percent better. After a year we’re 365 per cent better.”
— with files from Sam Houpt/Global News Peterborough
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