Hamilton city council voted Wednesday to approve a new sanctioned encampment site at a central Hamilton area and for more beds in shelters.
In a 12-4 vote, council approved the decision to establish the encampment site at Barton and Tiffany streets, taking steps to create a longer-term plan to help the nearly 300 people living in encampments across the city.
The vote to add 192 new temporary shelter beds to facilities such as the YWCA, Mission Services and The Good Sheppard passed unanimously.
The projects will raise the current number of shelter beds from 341 to 533 by the end of the year and will create 80 temporary outdoor shelter beds through a tiny shelter community.
City staff say the establishment of the new encampment site means that the tents there will be disbanded during construction, but the people there will get “first option” if they seek to reside in the new structures.
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Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath says the solution is not a permanent one, but that she wants to see the shelters in place for 24/7 wrap-around services “by the time the snow flies.”
“It’s really clear we have a serious crisis that we’re facing, and it’s our responsibility to try to find solutions. Unfortunately there are folks who don’t support it but don’t come up with any solutions – that’s their decision to make – but the people of Hamilton have made it very clear,” Horwath says in an interview with CHCH News.
While some councillors were not in favour of the new encampment site, Horwath says the current encampment problem needed to pivot towards this new solution because “you can’t keep doing the same things over and over and expect a different result.”
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Many community complaints voiced at Wednesday’s meeting observed that many of the proposed temporary solutions would cost the city millions.
The newly approved encampment site would cost an estimated $3.9 million annually with a $2.8 million cost up front, to create the shelters and washroom facilities.
The city also predicts it will pay $2.1 million in 2024 to enforce it’s encampment protocol.
