City's list of parks where homeless encampments prohibited faces new scrutiny
City hall finally provided a rationale why specific city parks were selected to be on a list where homeless encampments are proactively removed.
During this week’s meeting of the Community and Protective Services Committee, Coun. Sam Trosow pressed staff about a recent story by CTV News.
“There are some high profile, very busy, high activity parks in our community that require proactive surveillance,” Kevin Dickins, deputy city manager of social and health development explained.
CTV News recently revealed that out of 546 municipal parks, city hall has a list of 15 where compassionate, but proactive tent removal occurs.
The remaining parks are only enforced on a complaint basis.
Except for Springbank Park, the parks on city hall’s proactive enforcement list are in core neighbourhoods including the downtown, Old East Village, and SOHO.
Those neighbourhoods also contain many agencies that offer services that unsheltered Londoners access.
Coun. Trosow asked if the location of the selected parks is motivating Londoners experiencing homelessness to choose riskier locations to set up their tents.
“We know that many people that are going to be coming for your services are in encampments, yet they are being pushed further into other neighbourhoods and dangerous situations,” Trosow said.
“Inability to set up encampments in those downtown parks should not impact people being able to access 24/7 overnight drop-in spaces, or daytime programming spaces as they are all located in the core area or very close to the core,” replied Dickins.
Map showing location of 14 of the 15 parks where encampments are proactively removed (CTV News London)
‘We didn’t ask to be down here’
“I got stabbed in my face a couple times,” 33-year-old Michael says as he gently touches deep lacerations around his eye and down his cheek.
He barely survived a recent attack in the heavily wooded area where he shares a tent with his girlfriend.
Michael says encampments are being pushed from the core into more dangerous remote areas.
“Being pushed further and further back into darker areas like down here where we aren’t really seen,” he said.
“We’re being hidden away so it (homelessness) doesn’t seem like a problem.”
City staff and local agencies admit that the 400 spots in this year’s $5 million Winter Response to Homelessness won’t be enough to help everyone living unsheltered.
Coun. Jerry Pribil describes the current homelessness strategy in London as ad hoc.
“To move them from one spot to another, that doesn’t help their mental health situation, so we have to come up with permanent solutions,” Coun. Pribil told CTV News.
He believes upcoming meetings involving all stakeholders will be crucial to finding permanent solutions.
“Accountability is the key. It really is,” he said. “We have to make sure we all stay on track. It doesn’t matter if it’s the city or the agencies.”
Gordo, 42, worries about having his tent moved by the city.
He understands Londoners don’t want him camping in parks— but he doesn’t want to be there either.
“We didn’t ask to be down here,” he said. “We’re just kind of stuck in this situation.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.