Some people living at Charlottetown tent encampment don't plan to use overnight shelter units

Despite the recent cold weather, some people living in the tent encampment in downtown Charlottetown said they would rather stay in their tents than at the overnight shelter units the government is installing nearby. 

"I personally would not go in them because you're literally stacked up on top of each other," said Austin Crabbe, who is from Charlottetown and has been living at the encampment for five months. 

"They're way too small for the amount of us that are here. It's not enough … it's basically like you're just being shoved into a shipping container," Crabbe said. 

Housing Minister Matthew MacKay initially said the Park Street modular shelter units would be ready by mid-November to get people off the streets by the time cold weather arrived. Construction is underway, but MacKay now estimates the units won't be ready until the end of this month.

"We can never force anybody to take a unit, but it was our responsibility to make sure the units were there," MacKay said Thursday.

"I think once they see what we're doing and how it's going to work and our plans for the future, I think this will go a long way." 

There will be space for up to 51 people in modular units featuring shared bedrooms and bathroom facilities, usable from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. People staying there overnight wouldn't be allowed to consume alcohol or drugs on the premises. 

Some of us don't have jobs because we don't have a stable place to stay.- Lex Sonier

MacKay said he was on site at the units Thursday, where water and sewer was being hooked up. 

He also said the brick building on Park Street that housed the COVID-19 testing centre will be used as the shelter's entrance and check-in, and will also have lockers people can use. 

"They can leave their belongings there. There's a couple rooms that will have their own lockers that they can put their belongings in and not have to worry about them during the day."

'We're freezing all the time'

For Seth Bowers, the shelters don't hold much appeal, and despite the cold weather, he doesn't plan on using them once they're set up. 

"They're not gonna let anyone do what they usually do, right? So it's just gonna end up causing fights," said Bowers, who has been staying at the tent encampment with Lex Sonier for two months.

He said conditions are getting more grim with the winter weather coming.

"It's ice cold. We're freezing all the time. Our tents are starting to get wet from the inside."

Sonier said windy nights can also be scary. 

"You can feel the whole tent shaking, like, don't know if it's gonna come out of the ground or not," she said. 

"There was one night that it got that bad, I thought the tent was gonna up and fly away with me and Seth in it."

Sonier said she and Bowers try to stay warm with "a whole bunch of blankets".

There are no 24-hour shelters on P.E.I., though the government recently said they hope to build one by next winter. 

Sonier doesn't think the planned modular shelters are an adequate solution for her and other people experiencing homelessness. 

"I don't really think all of us are gonna be able to go into them and have enough space for ourselves," said Sonier. 

She estimated there are now about 20 to 30 people sleeping in the encampment every night. 

Somewhere 'safe and warm'

Sonier has been looking for an affordable place to rent in the Charlottetown area, but hasn't been able to find anything. 

"I was trying to look at rent that was, like, at least under $1,200, so then it was something somewhat affordable, but there's not really many places," said Sonier.

In Statistics Canada data released Wednesday, the annual inflation rate for rent on P.E.I. was almost double the Canadian average, with the Island's overall inflation rate the highest in the country for the 20th straight month.

Sonier said the government needs to create more low-income housing units. 

"Something that's more within the budget of people who are on social assistance or disability or welfare, so that we can afford to actually stay in there and not only have a month in there, then we're out," said Sonier. 

"Somewhere we can be so it's safe and warm and we can go back there every day and know that our stuff's gonna be there." 

She said it's hard to find employment when you don't have a place to call home. 

"Some of us don't have jobs because we don't have a stable place to stay to be able to get there on time. And look the part for it." 

Sonier is worried about some of the older residents of the tent encampment. 

"Just looking at them, like, it hurts me … they just don't look good. They just look like they could have a better life," she said. 

"Some people might not even make it past this winter if we're out here."