By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A new homeless encampment is taking shape on the grounds of the Chatham water treatment plant on Grand Avenue.
That’s due to upcoming slope stabilization work on the Thames River, meaning the downtown Chatham encampment had to be cleared for safety reasons.
Reach Out Chatham-Kent (R.O.C.K.) Missions workers and municipal housing staff were expected to assist with the final move July 14, under the watch of the Chatham-Kent police. A contractor is scheduled to come in for the final clean-up later this week.
According to Kim Crew, Chatham-Kent’s director of housing services, the municipally owned Public Utilities Commission property falls within the guidelines of the encampment protocol adopted by council last fall.
“The municipal encampment protocol does not dictate specific locations where unhoused persons should go,” Crew said in a media release. “Rather, it sets rules to ensure that unhoused people who shelter themselves on public lands do so in a way that tries to reduce impacts on other community members.”
Under the protocol, there are restrictions on where the unhoused can shelter. They can’t live within 100 metres of municipal playgrounds, water parks, splashpads, beaches or sports fields; on or within 100 metres of any elementary schools, child-care or assisted-living facilities that provide support or care services to youth or vulnerable populations; or within 10 metres of a private property line.
Any actively used parking lot or public-use building or structure is also off limits.
The tent village in downtown Chatham has existed in Rotary Park on Thames Street for the past year, housing between 40 to 50 people. At least one serious fire has occurred there, with Chatham-Kent Fire and Rescue Service dousing a potentially catastrophic blaze in March due to the threat posed by propane tanks on site.
Chatham Coun. Michael Bondy, who witnessed the March fire, said he doesn’t think the municipality should be assisting with the move.
“I just hope it doesn’t appear publicly that we (Chatham-Kent) are sanctioning this, Bondy told The Voice. “If it happens organically, we can support it with dumpsters or port-a-johns. But as it is, there’s no fire code or building code, if something goes wrong, we could be in trouble. It’s not safe.
“We can’t prevent it but we certainly shouldn’t condone it,” Bondy said of the Grand Avenue encampment. “We’re not in that business and we should not be in that business.”
In speaking to the closure of the downtown encampment, R.O.C.K Missions executive director Renee Geniole said she didn’t anticipate any problems with the move, but noted encampment dwellers are stressed.
“Nobody wants to move,” Geniole stated. “They are worried. This is a traumatic event. But we understand why the municipality has asked them to move.”
On the upside, Geniole said encampment dwellers have plenty of support in the transition.
“The services are there if they need them,” Geniole added. “They (municipal workers) don’t just throw them to the wolves.”
According to Geniole, there’s plenty of prejudice against the unhoused, and the hate aimed at them publicly and on social media continues to grow.
“People come by and yell at them, saying it’s their choice,” she added. “It’s amazing how many people say they should die.”
The slope stabilization work on the Thames, being completed with some federal funding, is slated to begin this fall with completion set for next year. It’s been in the planning stages since 2024, funded in part through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
Notices were hand delivered to the people living in the downtown encampment by Chatham-Kent housing services staff, with Crew saying the municipality is “working closely” with community partners to ensure supports are in place for those who are impacted.
Chatham-Kent continues to have services available to help the homeless via Victoria Park Place, the transitional cabin project slated to open in August and the homeless response line.
