Tent cities are 'safest alternative for many': lawyer

As people living ina makeshift camp near Ottawa'sBayview LRT station facean uncertain future, an advocate who has worked with tent city residents in Vancouver saysthe camps can provide things emergency shelters cannot.

"I have repeatedly seen how [tent cities]are the safest alternative for many people in the midst of a nation-wide housing crisis," said Anna Cooper, a Vancouver-based lawyer withPivot Legal Society, whichworks with marginalized communities.

"They are spaces where outreach workers can actually find their clientsand connect with them on an ongoing basis They're spaces where people are engaging in harm reduction strategies with each other, and routinely saving each other'slives."

On Friday, the City of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission (NCC) issueda verbal trespassnoticeat the camp, wherea fire broke out on Nov. 22.

On Monday, the approximately 10 people still living in the camp said they were given a reprieve from eviction, although they weren't sure how much longer the camp would last.

• No eviction Monday, homeless encampment told
• Some tent city residents plan to ignore trespass notice

Cooper said while safe, long-term housing is ultimately whatpeople want and deserve, she does understandwhy residentswould resist leaving tent cities.

"What frequentlyhappens to people is they're incentivized to leave a tent city through a promise of some kind of shelter or housingthat shelter or housing is eventually taken away from them and they still don't have a long term housing option."

Cooper said it leaves homeless people with gut-wrenching decisions, with many people forced to give up all of their possessionsor possibly part with an emotional support dogin order to spend a limited amount of time in a warm hotel room.

In other cases, people may have had abad experience in the past ata shelter where they're now being offered a bed.

Fire risk not an excuse

Cooper also said she doesn't buy the argument that the risk of fire is a good reason to shuta tent city down.

"Cities tend to highlight fire safety as an excuse to displace people without taking care of any other safety needs ... What I think is important in these conversations is to make it very clear that homeless people are forced with weighing many extremely unsafe conditions on a daily basis," said Cooper.

Cities and fire departments should go into tent citiesand have "realistic conversations with people about how they're supposed to stay safe in this weather," she said.

Cooper said she repeatedly hears thatpeople should be gratefulfor whatever housing they're being offered.

"I think government actors need to be really careful about making homeless people look ungratefuland playing into this really stigmatizing narrative [of]'Oh they're just rejecting our very kind help,'" she said.

"Often if you sit down with people and talk through why they're rejecting a specific kind of help, it's because theydon'ttrust that help, or in the past they've actually been hurt."

Plan to move tent city residents to another community 'set up to fail,' resident says

5 years ago

Duration 0:56

Resident Todd Kelly and executive director of the Somerset West Community Health Centre Naini Cloutier say residents don't want to move to another community, citing social ties and access to support systems.