Tiny shelters in Hamilton park cancelled due to costs that are ‘too significant’

A plan to build 25 tiny insulated cabins to house homeless people at Strachan Linear Park in Hamilton will not proceed.

The Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters (HATS) says its board of directors unanimously voted not to move forward with the two-year pilot project that was a part of the city’s response to the homelessness crisis.

While the proposed site addressed some of the needs of the HATS project, the group says further examination led them to conclude that the investment required was “too significant.”

“The organization felt too many of its essential site selection criteria were not being fully met, which would severely compromise the success of the pilot to the detriment of all of its community partners,” reads a statement from HATS released Friday.

In August, city council approved the encampment protocol with a 10-6 vote. City staff were then directed to work with HATS to complete the pilot project before the winter months.

READ MORE: Encampment protocol, tiny shelters approved in Hamilton despite resident concerns

Strachan park not ‘ideal location’: residents

The proposal was met with much opposition from Hamilton councillors and north-end residents alike.

Ward 9 Coun. Brad Clark previously told CHCH News that he was concerned for the city’s housing teams and social navigators.

“I fear that the 11-day timeline proposed for the enforcement of the bylaws will result in so many tents in parks across the city that bylaw enforcement will not have the staff to enforce these radial separations,” he said.

Ward 7 Coun. Esther Pauls has said the “city can’t deny the drug addiction, garbage and everything else that comes with encampments in parks.”

Residents who live close to the proposed site for the tiny shelters also pushed back and even threatened the office of Ward 2 Coun. Cameron Kroetsch.

“There have been some messages and voicemails left, and social media posts, which have been really turning the dial up in terms of violence against people who have been deprived of housing, people living in encampments,” he previously told CHCH News.

Community members had the opportunity to voice their concerns at public meetings in August and September, one of which was abruptly cancelled due to “health and safety concerns.”

Grace Mater, general manager for the City of Hamilton, said a staff member at the public consultation was assaulted as they were “grabbed, pulled, pushed and yelled at.”

READ MORE: Public meeting addresses plan for homeless tiny shelters in Hamilton

City and HATS to identify future sites for tiny shelters

While the pilot project did not work out for Strachan Linear Park, HATS says it is moving ahead in collaboration with the city to identify other possible sites for the tiny cabins to be developed on by mid-2024.

A number of partners, including LUINA, have also offered their support for the HATS model and will be working with the organization to choose potential locations.

“HATS will follow due process in engaging the community prior to selecting a future site,” the group says.

In a statement released Friday, a city spokesperson says it will be taking additional measures to meet the needs of unhoused people throughout the winter, including a call-out for applications for overnight winter warming spaces, expansion of day time drop-in programs and expansion of hours at some recreation centres and libraries.

The statement goes on to say that no alternative sites are proposed at this time as the city “focuses on the ongoing implementation of the city’s encampment protocols and work to accelerate the provision of low barrier shelter space and affordable options across the housing continuum.”