New agreement will see large tent encampments dismantled in downtown Hamilton

The city has reached an agreement with a group of Hamilton doctors and lawyers to do a needs assessment of people sleeping rough in exchange for dismantling large downtown encampments.

The city released a joint statement with Keeping Six, the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team (Hamsmart), the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic and Ross and McBride where the advocates will drop a court injunction that has allowed as many as 120 tents in high-profile places and prevented the city from dismantling them. About 80 tents are on Ferguson Avenue North.

The agreement says the city will evaluate people to see who has the highest needs. Those who can get into other kinds of shelter will have two weeks to do so. Those who can't will stay in encampments of fewer than five people, and not on major streets and sidewalks.

Lawyer Wade Poziomka, who represents the group, says his clients don't want people to have to live in tents either.

"My clients have always wanted an approach that recognized that some residents have nowhere else to go in the City of Hamilton, and that the options available for them simply don't work for them," he said.

"Encampments were never the goal, but were a realistic last resort. The agreement reached with the City of Hamilton recognizes and offers consideration for this group of residents. From our perspective, the agreement is a reasonable resolution, and our only disappointment in this process is that it did not come earlier."

It's not unusual for people to live in tents in Hamilton, but the option has become more prevalent and high profile since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tents have popped up in more than a dozen places in the city, with the highest prevalence being around the Wesley Day Centre on Ferguson Avenue North.

Some doctors and street outreach workers say it's better, in a pandemic, to have people who are homeless staying in one place to treat them in the event of COVID-19. Hamsmart and Keeping Six have also collected donated tents, and treated people in encampments for addictions, pregnancies and life-threatening wounds, among other ailments.

But people living near the encampments say tents in such large numbers are a health and safety issue. Leo Foster, who lives in a housing co-op at 185 Ferguson Ave. N., was once homeless himself. He said he and other residents have felt unheard and guilted into silence.

"People are afraid to leave their homes," he said. 

More crime in the area

Doris Anderson, 69, is the president of Foster's housing co-op. She uses a mobility scooter and relies on a personal service worker (PSW). Her PSW won't visit as long as the tents are there, she said Tuesday. 

Residents have seen violence and drug use on the street, Anderson said, as well as people defecating behind the building. She's sympathetic to people without homes, she said, but the large encampment isn't the answer.

"They have no washrooms here. No facilities," she said. "I'd like them gone, please."

Wahed Al-Jabry, former president of the Hamilton Downtown Mosque, said someone broke into the garage, smashed his car window and stole everything inside.

"I really feel sorry about those people who live over there," he said Tuesday. "I know the city and police are doing their best, but every day, the tents are increasing."

Tents have saved lives

Hamilton Police Services numbers show 103 calls for service around Ferguson Avenue North in August, which is a three-year high, said spokesperson Jackie Penman. She didn't offer a breakdown on the nature of the calls.

Police also arrested someone this summer for allegedly assaulting a waste collection worker.

Dr. Jill Wiwcharuk, meanwhile, said in some cases, the encampments have kept people alive. 

"I have been able to give prenatal care to people prior to them delivering their babies," she said this month. 

"I have seen life-threatening infections that are able to be treated, and I can follow them and do wound care. I have seen life-threatening addictions that I can finally treat because people are in one place. They're coming to me and saying 'I want to start methadone,' and we're able to have that appointment right in front of their tent."

New rules around encampments

A Superior Court judge issued the injunction on July 30. Poziomka said this month that his group has been trying to reach a settlement with the city, but the city wasn't willing. The city, which dismantled encampments early in the pandemic, says it's been renting hotel rooms for people and trying to get them into permanent housing.

Under this new agreement, the city will use a tool called the Vulnerability Index — Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool ("VISPDAT") tool to determine how high needs a person is.

Those with lower acuity will have two weeks to pack up their tents, and will be moved into hotel rooms, shelters or housing. Those with higher needs who will stay in encampments, the new rules are as follows:

• No more than five tents in an encampment.
• No encampments on sidewalks, roadways or boulevards.
• Encampments must not encumber an entrance or exit or deemed fire route.
• Encampments must be 50 meters from a playground, school or childcare centre.
• No encampments within any property with an environmental or heritage designation.
• Situations where health and safety concerns exist for those living within or adjacent to an encampment will be addressed in a reasonable fashion, in good faith, on a case-by-case basis by the city in its sole discretion, and in a way that balances everyone's needs. In those situations, the city will consult with its encampment task force and street outreach team.