Homeless campers told to leave Hamilton park days after being forced off school property

Shaggy and his two dogs have been ordered to leave their temporary tent home in Jackie Washington Rotary Park just days after being cleared out" of a homeless encampment downtown at a closed school.

The 30-year-old - he says everyone calls him Shaggy" - is one of about six homeless people who set up camp in the hilly, city-owned park near the General hospital after a tent city at the former Sir John A. Macdonald school was shut down by police on Monday.

A city parks employee gave him the bad news before Shaggy could even erect a proper tarp over the leaky blue tent that serves as home for himself and his shepherd mixes, Hachi and Chevy.

They just said you can't be here," said Shaggy, who has bounced around Hamilton for nine months since moving from Windsor. Shaggy said he was first told to vacate by Friday, but later learned he can stay until the middle of next week. I guess we're not very popular around here. We keep on being pushed out."

Street outreach groups like Keeping Six and the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team are outraged by the deadline and threatened eviction.

They argue cities like Edmonton have announced a pandemic pause" on clearing tent encampments from public land to avoid forcing vulnerable people to move around during the COVID-19 crisis - or off-the-grid, away from services.

Thy also point to pandemic guidance offered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unless individual housing units are available, do not clear encampments during community spread of COVID-19," the website states, citing the risk of dispersing vulnerable resident and spreading the disease.

The bottom line is you can't just tell them to move on again and again," said outreach doctor Jill Wiwcharuk, who spent Friday lobbying city councillors.

In an email to councillors, advocacy group Keeping Six also said city officials previously suggested it would be easier to support people were they to set up on city property" after being forced out of the downtown school. We supported people in moving to Jackie Washington in good faith and our reputations and relationships will be undermined if people are again moved on," reads the email.

Paul Johnson, Hamilton's pandemic emergency operations director, said the city's goal is to find shelter space or hotel rooms for people who are sleeping rough - including those in the park. So far, 71 hotel rooms in the downtown and east city have been used by homeless residents during the COVID-19 crisis.

Johnson said the city will not rush to clear encampments off municipal land - but it is not sanctioning tent cities," either. We do set some deadlines, but that's so everybody is working toward solutions," he said.

But why not just leave the tents alone until the pandemic crisis is over?

Johnson said encampments that get too big can become dangerous, pointing to a recent fire at a tent city in Toronto. (That city is trying to clear tent encampments by moving residents into temporary apartments.)

Ward councillor Jason Farr said fire and drug paraphernalia" are the main worries he has heard from residents living near the park who have complained about the tents. We do need to maintain that park for everyone else who uses it, too."

For his part, Shaggy said he tries to clean up trash and debris in the park. He has not built a campfire, but uses a candle stove for heat.

The city calls the tent encampment shutdown at Sir John A. Macdonald a success story, arguing a team of outreach workers spent a week hooking up outdoor campers with shelter beds or hotel rooms before police cleared the site.

The Spectator has so far spoken with five people who moved from the school into downtown area shelters or an east Hamilton hotel booked by the city. Shaggy, his sister and friend Mike said Friday they moved directly to the park from the school.

Shaggy said an outreach worker did indeed talk to him about the idea of moving into a hotel. But I couldn't go. They wouldn't let me take my dogs," he said. They're my babies, my family. I'm not leaving them in some foster home."

Pets are a unique challenge" for the city's pandemic housing effort, said housing director Edward John. Some pets are deemed safe to take into hotel settings - but not all.

John reiterated the city does not want to clear encampments without first arranging access to shelter and services" - and he has quiet confidence" outreach teams will be able to do so for people living in Jackie Washington park.

He said the city still has more than 30 hotel rooms available if needed. Work also continues to hook up homeless residents with permanent housing options" - for example, using new government funding for portable rent subsidies.

Shaggy said he's hoping for an actual roof" over his head - so long as his canine family can join him.

I love the outdoors, the trees - people call me Mowgli or Tarzan - but I would like to be in a house," he said, gazing at Chevy peaking out of their leaky tent. I want a sanctuary, you know? Somewhere where I can sleep without one eye open."

Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com