Who decides where our homeless camp is set up?
Prior to the pandemic, admittedly when we had fewer people out on the streets, they seemed to make the decision themselves. Pitch a tent in the bush behind Peavey Mart. Live on the land by the crumbling twin stacks north of Colborne Street.
But then several took up residence under the Third Street Bridge. After that, they were clustered in a parking lot beside Hope Haven in Chatham’s core. It led to some harsh interactions between nearby businessowners and a number of the homeless. Not a safe situation.
So they moved across the Third Street Bridge to Rotary Park on Thames Street. There were several fires.
There it remained for a year until this week, when it was to be moved. Shoreline improvements along the Thames River ostensibly led to the dismantling of that encampment.
Where to now? Green space across the laneway from Chatham’s water treatment plant.
At the time of writing this, it appears they will be located along a treed berm towards the west side of the property.
The location meets municipal guidelines. It won’t be close to the soccer fields on the other side of the large property. There is no school nearby and it’s well off the nearest private property line.
It meets the guidelines. But, again, who chooses?
What we do know is it is not municipal council. Nor, officials told The Voice, do C-K managers “direct unhoused persons to specific locations within the municipality.”
Is there a third party pulling the strings?
According to municipal officials, local outreach groups – a term that includes R.O.C.K. Missions and other support organizations and groups – may influence the unhoused on where to set up tents.
So, Chatham-Kent staff are taking a hands-off approach, only telling folks where they can’t go.
OK, then let us make a suggestion. Imagine if they were to be relocated to the front of the Civic Centre on the water. It’s public property. There are trees. There are no residents close by. Should police or fire be required, they are literally right there.
Such a good location, yet, for some reason, and ostensibly without municipal influence, the encampment is relocating more than a kilometre away from Rotary Park, rather than a couple hundred metres or so.
As a resident of the new chosen site i am concerned about my safety and the safety of children that live in this area . It is right by a walking /biking path and now we will not be able to make use of it . The neighbouring houses backing on to the water commission are at risk of theft . I don’t believe the residents of tent city read zoning rules . As tax payers we deserve the right to be informed prior to decisions made that will affect our neighbourhood and our safety.
People are humans, whether you live on a street with an address or whether for unforeseen unfortunate circumstances you have to make your address somewhere in public. This is such a sad thing to me where people who live in homes don’t feel obligated in any way to help let alone they don’t even want to see them. These are the invisible people that should just go dig a hole jump in and bury themselves and disappear. Or better yet go to somewhere like Toronto where you can sit in the downtown core and rot. I read comments earlier about people who were complaining that they didn’t have portable Johnny’s out of their cottage which is their second home and we’re complaining because the homeless got some. This whole idea of people who think they have a solid home and address think that people who don’t have that don’t deserve anything. They should go live in the bush and just disappear or die. Your comment is really off-putting. I’m sorry you probably don’t care and you don’t want to hear it but I’m going to say it anyway. It’s not nice it’s not human it’s not kind it’s not taking care of your neighbor and not the neighbor that’s easy that just needs a hello but the neighbors are the people in the world who are struggling.
As a homeless person myself through my own personal experiences with municipal reps and CK police, “out of sight” is the strategy taken on by our municipality. They may not come out and say it publicly, instead they work with organizations like ROCK Mission who then have the homeless set up in those secluded spots
Most of these people are there because of a greed landlord/rental company. When the company/man wanted to only pay low wage and food prices shoots to the sky. One doesn’t have extra for greedy landlords. That’s what’s wrong with supply and demand
This city is a dump and the Mayor is doing a terrible job. Our roads are pathetic, their are neighborhoods that need to be cleaned up. I have never seen this city look so dirty…we put in a brand new beautiful bridge downtown and then let a bunch of homeless people live down there hanging freaking blankets off it, nevermind downtown and beside businesses. We need to stop spending money on these people that probably aren’t even from here and fix our roads
How about the writer of this editorial invite the encampment into your backyard? I have visited many towns and cities in Ontario since covid. Don’t think I’ve seen any in front of a town hall. Why is it supposed to be convenient for them? Just think, we could have build those tiny houses right along the river.
It’s with great sadness that there is even a tent city for the homeless population 😞.
That seems to be getting bigger and bigger, it’s disgraceful to every tax payer without warning this tent camp is moved to where there are vulnerable persons around! I’m sorry for whatever reason these people are homeless, that some choose to live this lifestyle and others have no choice. We allow to many people into Canada ignoring the needs of our own,only to look good, let’s move these tent camps in our so called leaders neighborhood,see what happens next! I feel as a tax payer we should of a say where these tent cities are located, if the leaders don’t want them in there neighborhood why do they think others do. Building these tiny homes OMG aggravates me and so many others… We have a lot of residents struggling to work pay taxes need help yet Chatham Kent money is going into building brand new tiny homes for the homeless, I’m sorry look at the state of these tent cities, with time the new tiny homes will look the same. This is not welcoming to visitors to Chatham Kent ont!!!!! Chatham Kent counselors are pissing our tax dollars away, instead of coming up with a plan to help people not end up homeless to begin with… It’s a epidemic out of control as to many leaders have there hands in the tax payers cookie jar…..
Points well said. Yet had nothing to do with newcomers. They move here to look for employment. They take the jobs pur locals don’t want. Not sure how bad homeless want to work. I know some can’t. We offered one young man an opportunity to make $200 cash, free meal to help me trim some hedges and treat my deck. He said no.