Latest news with #HamiltonEncampmentSupportNetwork
CBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CBC
From the forest to City Hall: Hamilton encampment residents protest lack of housing options
Izzy Emmanuel says he doesn't want to be invisible anymore. That's why he decided to relocate his tent from deep in the escarpment forest to right outside City Hall on Monday in protest of Hamilton's encampment ban and lack of affordable housing. "Everyone who is homeless, their voice is non-existent," Emmanuel told CBC Hamilton. "What makes me irritated is if you take away our tents, you're forcing people to sleep outside." The 29-year-old works as a line cook, earns minimum wage and hasn't been able to afford to rent a place for years. He spent his teenage years in foster care and got set up in an apartment for a while but was evicted after his rent went up and he couldn't pay for two months, he said. He couch surfed with family and friends for a while before moving to the rail trail. "I don't know what else to do," he said of his situation. He was joined by two other people, including Jeanguy Parent, 58, who also face impending eviction from their tents along the rail trail, as well as volunteers from the Hamilton Encampment Support Network. After one night at City Hall, the group was served with trespass notices by two city bylaw officers accompanied by four police officers Tuesday afternoon. They were told they had a right to protest but had to take their tents down and should go to a shelter. A bylaw officer called different shelters for them and informed Emmanuel and Parent two beds were available at a men's shelter, which they declined. They instead went back to the rail trail. Parent said he doesn't stay in shelters because they are more often than not full, unsafe or triggering as other people use substances. He's on the wait list for transitional housing and has lived near the rail trail for almost a year. The city began clearing encampments near him earlier this month. Parent and Emmanuel said while they haven't been among those formally evicted, they've been told by officials it's only a matter of time. "We know something big is coming there," Parent said. Shelters are full, provider says Over the winter, the city opened an 80-person outdoor shelter and added 192 more indoor shelter beds, bringing the total to 930. Then in March it began enforcing its bylaw that bans tents in parks with the expectation that encampment residents would move into shelters instead. "Although capacity pressures exist, admissions do occur on a daily basis as a result of shelter users moving out to housing or other options," said the city in a statement earlier this month. But those spaces can be hard to come by. The city said as of April shelters capacity was at: 96 per cent for men, 98 per cent for women, 88 per cent for families, 86 per cent for "adult mixed," 65 per cent for youth, 55 per cent for emergency hotels. Encampment residents have told CBC Hamilton they routinely call shelters in search of beds but have yet to find an opening. Staff at one shelter provider, the YWCA Hamilton, echoed that experience. "They're full," said Chelsea Kirkby, vice president of strategic initiatives and program development. "There is turnover, naturally, and they're filled immediately. It's not frequent enough turnover to meet the need." She oversaw the opening of a 20-bed shelter for women and gender diverse people in December, funded by the city. It filled immediately, she said. "We thought it would help relieve the pressure, but it has not," Kirkby said. The YWCA's other drop-in shelter, which generally operates on a first-come-first-served basis, is also full every night, she said. Emmanuel said sleeping in a tent leaves him tired and achy, with barely enough energy to work in a kitchen, where he earns about $1,100 a month, never mind calling shelters everyday looking for a spot.
CBC
13-05-2025
- CBC
'Where do you want us to go?' People living along Hamilton's rail trail hide as city says they must leave
When Hamilton couple Margaret de Jong and Calvin Graham got a city notice ordering them to leave their rail trail encampment last week, they say they had no choice but to retreat deeper into the forested side of the escarpment. "We basically camouflaged our tent so it looks like a bush," Graham, 34, told CBC Hamilton Sunday. "We could see everything that happened, but nobody could see us." They've lived in a tent near the rail trail since the fall of 2023. Because de Jong is unhoused, her two children live in foster care, which has been devastating, she said. But she and Graham have nowhere else to go. On May 6, police and bylaw officers gave them and other people living along the section of rail trail between Wentworth and Kenilworth avenues notice they had to leave within 24 hours, which is when they moved their tent, the couple said. De Jong said she's been calling women's shelters three times a day looking for a spot but with no success. She and Graham also applied for one of the 40 couple cabins at the new outdoor shelter on the Barton-Tiffany lands, but it's full, too. "I just want everyone to know it's not OK," de Jong said. I just want to have my voice heard because at this point I don't know what to do. I want to be able to raise my children." De Jong and Graham were among a group of encampment residents and advocates who spoke at a news conference on Sunday. It was organized by the Hamilton Encampment Support Network in response to the trail evictions. Hamilton police said they were present over the weekend to help municipal law enforcement clean up the area. The city used "large equipment" to remove about 24 truckloads of "debris" from the area, said police spokesperson Jackie Penman. "These notices were issued after many complaints from nearby residents about safety concerns for themselves and the people living in the encampments," Penman said. "It's important to note that residents were given an opportunity to remove their belongings prior to any cleanup operations taking place." Force not used, police say Five sites were cleared on Friday and police made no arrests or ticketed or charged anyone, Penman said. "No one was removed from the area by force." The city did not provide a response to CBC Hamilton's questions including how many people were impacted, how full city shelters currently are and if people living elsewhere on the trail will be impacted. De Jong and Graham estimated there were about 40 people in encampments in the area, but it's unclear exactly how many have left. "What has happened on the rail trail the last few days is not humane at all," de Jong said. Jeanguy Parent, 58, who goes by J.P., has been living near the trail for almost a year. "Where are we supposed to go?" he asked. Parent was turned away from the outdoor shelter because it prioritizes couples and those with pets, two categories he doesn't fall into, he said. He's also on wait lists for affordable and supportive housing, he added. Parent, who is from Oneida Nation, said he hasn't been kicked out of his encampment yet, but was told by an officer it would happen soon. He's asking the city for more time, until next week, so he and others can try to find somewhere else to go. "We shouldn't have to live in fear in our own city," he said. Gessie Stearns, an advocate who researches homelessness, said the city needs to come up with a better plan. "I'd like to ask the city to leave these people alone," she said. "Trucks moving in, people moving out — it was absolutely deplorable and horrible and people were stuck not knowing what to do." She noted the city spent $5.1 million more than planned on building the outdoor shelter on the Barton-Tiffany lands — a project that is supposed to be temporary. The money, from a federal housing grant, could've instead been used for permanent, affordable housing, Stearns said.
