Achi news desk-
Municipal officials put more pressure on residents encamped in front of Hamilton city hall on Monday by once again issuing warnings asking them to leave.
The tents have been piling up since late February in the forecourt on Main Street West, with organizers insisting it is a demonstration highlighting the need for more support among those experiencing homelessness.
Many of the 40 tents were served with voluntary compliance notices, warning that failure to leave the forecourt “could lead to enforcement.”
“I didn’t expect this because I thought I had made myself clear about the trespass notice and the fact that we are an active protest and that is our right to do that,” said an advocate poverty and the organizer of the camp, Angela Vos.
“We will wait for the time we need to get housing for people and to continue the health care and services we have provided.”
The camp began as a protest over a couple of issues including an effort to open the John Weir Foote Armory on James Street as a warming center.
Photo of a voluntary compliance notice issued March 25, 2024 to the occupants of approximately 40 tents in the forecourt of City Hall in Hamilton Ont.
Global News
The second objected to stopping development on two parking lots in the middle of Stoney Creek earmarked for affordable housing.
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Vos met with Mayor Andrea Horwath late last week in an attempt to add bathrooms, power and general holistic care for the camp. That request was refused.
Initial trespass notices were issued by the city on March 1, just days after the first tents appeared on the last weekend of February.
Global News has reached out to the city to seek next steps following the issuance of more notices on Monday. Staff have not yet responded to the inquiry.
The city’s street outreach team told Global News in late February that they would regularly engage with individuals and offer support as they would for any other camping site throughout the city.
In early March, the city’s outreach manager, Danielle Blake, said they have a list of about 200 homeless people that they are continuously engaging with over the past few months.
Almost 1,900 people are believed to be homeless in Hamilton with an estimated 258 clearly homeless and living in encampments.
City staff estimate that last year’s spending on addressing homelessness reached about $80 million with about $28 million in aid coming from the state and another $9.9 million in federal contributions.
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
