Regina's Camp Hope dismantled, residents moved to temporary indoor shelter

As most Camp Hope residents took down their tents and gathered their belongings from Regina's Pepsi Park Monday morning, Tim Bird carefully watched from the perch of her lawn chair. 

The mother of five from Peepeekisis Cree Nation took refuge in the camp soon after it was erected last month to help those dealing with homelessness.

Bird said she had been without a home since June, which was when she was evicted following issues with the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program.

"Hopefully we can get our message across to the government that we need help," she said, pointing to other camp residents who went through similar situations.

In the wake of people speaking out about the difficulties with the new SIS program, the Ministry of Social Services announced last Friday it would be tweaking it. The province said it would go back to offering direct rent and utility payments — but only for "high needs SIS clients with complex challenges who are at risk of homelessness."

On the same day, the City of Regina announced it would be moving dozens of people living at Camp Hope to a 40-bed indoor emergency shelter — run by Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services (RT/SIS) — through funding from the provincial government. 

Shortly after 10 a.m. Monday, a Regina transit bus pulled up on 11th Avenue to begin transporting Camp Hope residents to the indoor facility located on Hamilton Street in the city's Warehouse District.

But Bird didn't hop aboard for fear of losing the community she helped build over the last few weeks.

"We all became family," she said. "Everybody knows each other and we are all comfortable with each other."

However, with a snow storm and freezing temperatures in the forecast this week, camp organizers and city police encouraged the residents who stayed behind to move indoors.

"My message to everybody has just been: One step at a time, one foot in front of the other. We're going to support you and we're going to try to follow up the best we can," said Alysia Johnson, an organizer at Camp Hope.

With the new facility only taking in 40 people, Johnson said it has left organizers and staff at RT/SIS to help more than 20 others find different accommodations — whether it be in a hotel for a couple of nights or another local shelter. 

A fresh start

While some wanted to stay put, for other Camp Hope residents — like Nathan Thompson, who had also been there from the start — it was time to leave.

"It's uncomfortable to be cold and just to be out here is uncomfortable," he said.

Aside from the warmth that indoor shelter will bring, Thompson said the move symbolizes a new beginning in his recovery from addictions.

On top of providing people with a roof over their heads, food and showers, the emergency facility is expected to offer social supports for those who access it over the next six months.

"It means a lot because I get to start all over. I'm trying to straighten out my life ... and at 49 years old, I'm not getting any younger,"  Thompson said. "It's uncomfortable being homeless."