Homelessness stays the prevailing difficulty in Hamilton, with town slowly making strikes to discover a practical answer.
Encampment guidelines proceed to vary, inexpensive housing development tasks are shifting ahead, and initiatives just like the ‘Solve the Crisis’ marketing campaign launched by the Ontario Huge Metropolis Mayors coalition are battling for the eye of the provincial authorities.
However, what does Hamilton’s homeless inhabitants truly take into consideration these plans?
At a press convention in Bayfront Park on Tuesday, encampment residents addressed the proposals being debated in metropolis council.
And the primary level residents needed to make sure was clear: a one-size suits all answer will not be an answer in any respect.
“People seem to categorize us, put us all in that same lump, and I’ve actually been told that the homeless are a disease,” Paul, a resident of the Bayfront encampment, mentioned.
“We are not all the same.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has made headlines up to now for his stance on the problem of homelessness within the province, saying in a press convention simply final month homeless individuals must “start working like everyone else.”
However individuals like Paul, who haven’t been homeless for lengthy however reasonably are confronted with housing insecurity, say with hire costs hovering in Hamilton, it’s not that easy.
“There are people here that are working, and still cannot find a home,” he mentioned.
One other resident of the Bayfront encampment, Amber, mentioned she’s not residing in a tent for an absence of attempting.
“I’ve tried my hardest to apply for places, I’ve messaged to landlords…I’ve had not one person message me back due to my situation,” she mentioned.
Paul additionally mentioned options just like the inexpensive housing models getting in on Tiffany Avenue solely work for a portion of the homeless inhabitants in Hamilton.
“They say they want to put us down in this Tiffany and Barton area…and it’s basically for couples and people with animals,” he mentioned. “Me, as a single person, they want to force into a shelter again.”
He went on to recommend town make the most of extra vacant heaps just like the one on Tiffany Avenue, to offer quite a lot of choices for the unhoused.
Hamilton metropolis council shall be in session tomorrow to debate the usage of a however clause as steered by Premier Ford, which might give town the power to skirt round a few of the legal guidelines surrounding encampment cleanup.
“We are not all here by choice,” Paul mentioned. “Some of us have no other way out.”
VIDEO: The Hamilton Encampment Assist Community is anticipated to carry a press convention at Bayfront Park on Tuesday at 12 p.m. to function a normal response to selections being made on behalf of encampment residents.
