Part 2: Encampments and Houselessness(Blog Series)
I wrote about the City’s Encampment approach in a previous blog which you can find here. However, recent events demonstrated that the approach to high-risk encampments played out very differently than what I had initially understood. The revised Encampment Response Plan from April 2023 discussed 2 key outcomes:
“People experiencing unsheltered homelessness have clear, consistent, and rapid connections to supports and housing; and
Encampments do not diminish individual and/or public safety.”
I agree with the many I heard from that both of these were not demonstrated in the approach that Edmontonians witnessed.
The City is truly in a lose-lose situation with encampments. We can’t let them stay and we should not clear them without access to support (which are lacking and fall within Provincial responsibility - see image below).
I have been clear that encampments are not appropriate housing options. Allowing them to be established poses serious risks to public and individual safety - especially when they are deemed ‘high-risk’.
Fire Rescue Services (FRS) data is a clear example of this. In 2023, FRS responded to 135 calls related to fires in encampments that led to 22 injuries and 3 deaths. However, clearings need to happen with compassion and reasonable alternatives for unsheltered folks.
While having adequate shelter spaces and the quality of those spaces has dominated the conversation, this is often a distraction from truly human-centered and rights-based approaches that are needed and many are asking for.
As a result of the events that occurred, and a motion I made for this discussion to happen in public (the report was presented in private), Council had further discussion on the encampment approach on February 12, 2024. I voiced concerns about the disconnect between what Council directed with the encampment response, and the approach that the City and Edmonton Police Service took during implementation.
We can and must do better at ensuring safety in a compassionate way.
Photo from the Special Council Meeting where a Housing and Houselessness Emergency in Edmonton was declared.
