The relief dragged residents of a large homeless camp in Kitchener, Ontario, this week after the community of more than 40 people learned they would be allowed to stay, although it is unclear during How much time.
The Waterloo region, which owns the land where the camp is located, said it will not forcibly clean up the collection of tents in the city center, but plans to go to court to get those who live there to leave.
The region had issued eviction notices on June 6, warning residents who had left before Thursday, when they were considered to be entering.
Some of the residents said they were concerned that what happened in Toronto last summer would be repeated, when violence erupted as police moved to forcibly demolish similar camps.
The suspense is “very good news,” said Jenn Draper, who has lived at the site with her partner, Will House, since December.
“I’m fine, but they say they should seek legal advice, so I’m not sure what that means.”
“I’m happy, but I wouldn’t leave anyway,” House said.
The Waterloo region said it will take legal action if residents do not leave on Thursday.
Regional President Karen Redman told The Canadian Press that the region will not forcibly evict camp residents, but will file an application with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice if they do not leave their property.
“We wanted them to know that we were serious, but it has always been our intention to go to court and the judicial process will allow all parties to convey what they believe is the preferred path,” he said.
Redman said while space in shelters and motels is tight, there is room for those living in the camp.
Since 2021, 508 people have moved from homelessness to permanent housing, 190 households at risk of being evicted remained in their homes with financing for rent arrears and 2,626 households avoided housing stays through the prevention program and diversion of housing from the regions, he said.
There are currently about 1,000 people living on the streets of the region, Redman said, adding that they have offered camp residents a place somewhere inside.
Proponents, however, argue that there is not as much space as the region says, pointing to a nearby space in a church that was recently closed.
“It’s just moving the loungers,” said Michelle Mortansen of the GoingMobileKW outreach group.
And some in the camp, including Draper and House, say they have never approached the region in terms of shelter.
“I would take a motel room if they offered me,” House said. “It would be nice to have my own bathroom.”
The couple was the first to arrive at the site in December. They became homeless in May 2021 after having a fight with a friend to whom they rented a room.
Since then, they have been in and out of shelters, lived for a few months on the street and a few weeks in the bush, they say.
They ended up outside a social dining hall in early December. But that didn’t last long either, which was when they moved to the other side of the field, they said.
House, who has been unable to work for years after breaking his back, helped build a makeshift house.
The top is covered by a sturdy masonry tarpaulin insulated by blankets placed against a retaining wall made of large stones. Inside there is a bed and a sofa and a “dressing room” that looks more like a crawl space.
In March, a few more showed up and set up tents, the couple said. Soon after, it went from a few stores to 20, Draper said.
Over the past few months, they have managed to build a community where they care for each other, he said.
There are several dining tables, sunbeds, barbecues and a donation table for outreach workers who come day and night with food, medicine and clothes.
“Many of us don’t have families or their families have turned their backs on us, but here we found one,” Draper said.
“So I think we created that feeling when you walk out the door to go somewhere. You know someone cares about you coming back.”
Britney O’Donnell lived in the camp last month. He has experienced violence in shelters and was usually robbed of his belongings. “It’s so much better here, no one steals things from me,” he said.
O’Donnell, who previously worked as a nurse, has three children. One day, when her young daughter was two years old, her partner gave her a Percocet, an opioid painkiller, she said.
“I felt like a super mom,” she said. “I could go down and play for hours with my daughter and the house was clean, like spotless.”
He started taking OxyContin, another opioid painkiller, and finally fentanyl, he said.
“He was so silly and naive and I feel so stupid,” the 37-year-old said through tears. “I miss my kids. I want to clean up, but it’s very hard to find treatment.”
O’Donnell said he is afraid of shelters and has no idea where he will go if the region forces him to leave.
Redman, the regional president, said the region initially allowed camping, as long as it didn’t get too big.
It crossed that threshold in early June and reached about 60 people, Redman said. There were also concerns about the safety, criminal activity and health of residents, he said.
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said the plight of the homeless is dire and they desperately need the province to help them.
“What’s key here is that we need a plan that provides reasonable and meaningful alternatives for residents,” he said. “It has reached a point of crisis.”
The problem has prompted mayors in the big city of Ontario (29 mayors with a population of 100,000 or more) to call for an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Doug Ford to “address the chronic crisis of homelessness, health mental health, security and addictions that overwhelm our communities. “
The prime minister’s office did not return several requests for comment.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 30, 2022.