‘It’s stressful. I break down. I cry’: Hamilton encampment resident braces for another move
Gord Smyth estimates he has spent as much as $3,000 preparing for homelessness in Hamilton.
Smyth has invested in a new generator, electrical cables, heaters, a four-season tent.
He has mounted an outdoor showering kit behind tarps in a corner of the encampment he and a friend set up.
There's a toaster oven, microwave, coffee maker, food processor, barbecues.
He has an alarm that chirps if an intruder messes with his tent during the night.
It's a new thing for me and I've learned very quickly. You need to be prepared."
Smyth, 54, was displaced from his apartment on James Street North in mid-June after the property was sold to a new owner with redevelopment plans.
His arrival to the west side of Central Park - off Bay Street North at Mulberry Street - two weeks ago marked the fifth time he'd moved in a month.
It's prohibited to camp in public spaces in Hamilton, and the city follows a protocol that limits small clusters of tents at one location to a maximum of 14 days.
It's stressful. I break down. I cry," says Smyth about the taxing cycle of finding a spot, setting up, only to move days later while coping with a host of health problems affecting his mobility.
But on Friday, his deadline to vacate once again, advocates with the Hamilton Encampment Support Network formed a human barrier in front of the men's tents.
We're going to defend the encampment as best as we can today, if they choose to show up," network member Sahra Soudi said.
But by around midday, the group received word police and city officials had postponed a plan to enforce the bylaw until next week.
It's a huge relief," said an emotional Smyth, seated outside his tent with Daisy, his Chihuahua companion.
Upon leaving his home, the systems analyst whose career was cut short by a car accident, faced a private rental market that was out of reach.
After about five years in the James Street North apartment, his rent was $545 a month - doable on a monthly disability pension of $1,255.
But with rents for apartments easily outstripping his income, and a potential years-long wait for subsidized housing, the outlook was bleak.
And like others who populate encampments dotting the urban landscape, Smyth has his reasons for not staying in shelters: anxiety in close quarters with others, security concerns, restrictive hours.
Here, if I'm not feeling well, I can stay in bed. If I want to go for a walk, I go for a walk."
Encampments - a highly conspicuous reminder of Hamilton's housing crisis - are the focus of charged debates that have become more pitched during COVID-19.
Last year, a group of doctors, street outreach workers and lawyers waged a legal battle with the city over the municipality's push to enforce the tent bylaw amid a large encampment on Ferguson Avenue North.
That ended with a settlement and protocol stipulating parameters, including the 14-day limit, a cap of five tents per group and considerations for mental health.
Coun. Jason Farr, who represents downtown, says he has fielded numerous complaints from constituents about encampments in his ward.
They include grumbles over an early-morning explosion reportedly caused by a propane tank, defecation and garbage, he said Friday.
But Farr also argues there's no reason for people to sleep outside with millions in pandemic funding put toward increasing spaces for physical distancing in shelters and hotel rooms.
There are safer and more humane conditions than people living rough outside."
He said the city has navigated" nearly 650 people to shelters, hotel rooms and housing during the pandemic.
On Friday, the veteran councillor said he received a call from the city's housing director Edward John asking about delaying the Central Park deadline.
And I said, That's fine,'" noted Farr, adding officials have stretched the 14-day rule more than once.
The advocates have a right to express opposition to the protocol, he added. That's why we live in a democratic and free society."
In an emailed statement, John said the city's encampment responses vary and require significant coordination" with agencies and city departments.
Based on a number of circumstances today, it was determined that regrouping next week was a more considered course of action."
Soudi, meanwhile, describes the displacement of encampment residents in the absence of adequate affordable housing as an evil" tactic.
If anything, they're just being asked to move and find another place to stay."
As for Smyth, he's holding out hope for a proper home, but also bracing to leave again if he must. We're preparing for the worst."
Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com