Hamilton to residents: What should we do with encampments?
Published June 8, 2023 at 12:18 pm
Residents can sound off about Hamilton’s plan for encampments, including the concept of sanctioned sites for the homeless.
The City said it involves creating an encampment protocol, which proposes to allow encampments of no more than five tents on municipal property throughout the city, subject to certain conditions.
The protocol aims to provide guidance on where tents and temporary shelters are banned, create a stable location where the homeless can connect with service providers and organizations to allow them to “better serve the health and safety needs” of the individuals, and “balance the needs” of the homeless with residents using parks and open spaces, according to the City.
Residents can provide comments on the protocol proposal by June 30 on the City’s website and EngageHamilton site.
On May 17, city council had rejected the encampment plan that would have allowed legal encampments in parks and on city-owned properties in Hamilton due to human rights concerns. Following the public consultation, the City is expected to have an updated recommendation in August.
The City’s other proposal is to create sanctioned encampment sites. This additional plan would permit between 20 and 50 tents at dedicated locations in centralized locations. The City thinks this plan would allow people to access services such as washrooms and running water, as well as health and social services supports.
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“If the City chooses not to proceed with dedicated, sanctioned encampment sites, the encampment protocol would be the primary tool used by the City in working with encamped residents,” the City said in a press release. “If sanctioned encampment sites are approved, the protocol would serve as a guide for unsheltered individuals who are unable or choose not to sleep in the sanctioned encampment sites.”
The proposal comes as Hamilton and several other Ontario municipalities have declared a state of emergency on homelessness amid the enormous challenges of finding affordable housing in the city. Some homeless advocates have also accused police and City officials of bullying, threatening and evicting people at the Whitehern encampments behind Hamilton City Hall.
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Another idea to solve encampments dilemma
The founder of Human Beings of Hamilton Facebook group goes by the pen name of Jack Soule.
He said having tents in parks “will further drive a wedge between the housed and unhoused.”
He thinks there is a better way to solve the problem of encampments. For now, he sees tents and leasing private land as crucial to helping the homeless.
The leased private land for the encampments could have a fence around it so it won’t be an “eyesore” for other residents, he said, though he acknowledges it’s a Band-Aid solution.
He said his Facebook group, Human Beings of Hamilton, has handed out 70 tents so far since the page has been active in the past 90 days.
“We will continue to do this until there is a better plan put forth from our leaders besides sleeping on street corners,” he said, adding that many donors donate tents, sleeping bags, tarps, blankets, bags and first aid kits as items. His group doesn’t accept cash donations.
(Soule would like to remain anonymous because he said he saw other people harassed for helping the homeless and being anonymous can help people trust him and see “this project isn’t just some virtue signal like so many influencers do.”)
“What I would like the city to do is take the burden off of us in finding/crowdfunding private land, and find a suitable parcel of land for us to use that’s away from schools, parks, etc.,” he said in an email to inthehammer.com. Soule, who is employed and housed, has been doing outreach for the homeless for over 10 years.
His temporary solution is to charge a small fee for those living on the encampments on private land to instill a sense of pride in the space. Then, money could be raised to build amenities, such as showers and washrooms.
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