Nowhere to go for some as city clears out tent camps

There were about 165 formal complaints about campers this year

City police removed about 40 people when they broke up an encampment of homeless people across the street from the Wolfe Street overflow shelter on Sept. 9.

They were directed by police to remove their belongings or face having it confiscated and a $305 fine.

“I understand why the police are doing it, but it makes me feel unwanted and unsafe because I don’t have anywhere to go,” said Kaitleen Jorgensen, one of those who had camped outside the shelter.

As of Aug. 31, city park staff responded to more than 800 service calls for camping or clearing permits with almost 165 formal tent complaints throughout the city.

“When prohibited tenting is found on city property, people are asked to remove the tent. If the person is homeless, social services outreach workers offer to assist with connecting to emergency shelters and social services,” said Brendan Wedley, manager of communication services.

Two years ago, the city and the county passed tougher bylaws outlawing camping in parks following the tent city summer at Victoria Park and other locations in downtown Peterborough.

Jorgensen, who witnessed the dismantling of the homeless encampment on Sept. 9, said she hasn’t used the shelter due to the stigma of having to ask for help.

“(It creates) anxiety, really high anxiety, it makes me feel really bad about myself,” she said.

Jorgensen helped clean up at the encampment, collecting used needles in biohazard containers and keeping the area clean of garbage.

She is worried about the people who moved on and may not find a place to call home.

“The price of living in Peterborough is outrageous and there’s so much homelessness,” she said.

For people facing homelessness, there is not many choices for housing, said Christian Harvey, executive director of One City Peterborough.

“The big issue is there aren’t many legal options for people experiencing homelessness and who’ve been evicted or do not feel safe in shelters,” Harvey

said.

“Whenever an encampment is displaced, it’s letting people know they have zero options for their survival.”

Harvey said he believes people, who find themselves homeless, are feeling many services supporting them are letting them down.

“What people feel is the system is not there to support them,” Harvey said.

“When they’re being moved without options, they’re seeing their acts of survival met with police presence, they’re being shown they’re not of the same worth as others.”

One City aims to make affordable housing accessible for people transitioning out of the shelter system.

“We’re trying to open more affordable houses to focus on individuals coming out of homelessness and criminalization,” Harvey said.

One City has been offering survival gear to people who don’t have access to shelter, either due to shelter bans or issues finding apartments.

“We offer help in small ways by handing out survival gear,” Harvey said.

“We’re handing out tents, sleeping bags, blankets when we have them, and small amounts of food, clothing, backpacks, and toiletries.”

Access to different housing options should be made available in the city, he said.

“What we see is mental health deteriorating as individuals constantly move,” Harvey said.

“We know one of the biggest stressors in someone’s life is moving, so if people are moving all day, every day and are constantly being told, they can’t be somewhere, it has an impact on people’s mental health.”

The city shelter system currently has capacity for 91 people, most nights that number is met which creates a backlog for people facing homelessness, according to homeless advocate Dan Hennessey.

“People don’t have places to go. Shelters are full, so people camp there, a lot of them are waiting for a bed in the overflow shelter,” Hennessey said.

“It’s a sad situation, there isn’t enough capacity in Peterborough, so they wait outside until a bed is available.”

By criminalizing people, it is creating problems such as pushing vulnerable people to the fringes of society. Advocates say more outreach is needed to engage ways to find solutions and to help transition people.

“Women are facing sexual exploitation because they need shelter, that creates more trauma for the victims,” Hennessey said.

“People are flying beneath the radar, they were potentially connecting with agencies before, but now they’re forced to the outskirts. Logistically, they can’t make it downtown to access any services.”

With the worsening opioid crisis, people pushed to the fringes end up using drugs alone and are at a much higher risk of dying from the poison drug supply, he said.

“We’ve got a contaminated drug supply. So, if somebody is an addict and they’re living in a tent isolated. Nobody is going to be there if they overdose, and they may be found days later dead.”

Protocols in the shelter system are there to help protect everyone involved, when those are not respected it can lead to shelter restrictions, Wedley said.

“Service restrictions are put in place for violence and use of prohibited substances in the shelter — people can use the shelter while under the influence of substances,” he said. mbarker@peterboroughdaily.com