‘A struggling population’: Looking for new ways to support homeless Calgarians

The treatment of vulnerable people is back in the spotlight in Calgary, with extra attention being paid to growing encampments in place around the city.

The removal of one such encampment outside the Drop-In Centre in the downtown core sparked the ire of Mayor Jyoti Gondek last week, who said it was unacceptable action from the police.

“That is not how we characterize looking after people in positions of vulnerability when we take down the only home they have.”

Gondek promised to have more conversations and try to identify better strategies, starting with ensuring people can get alternative shelter rather than losing what they have.

Asked again about the progress on this while she was in Houston for a conference, Gondek said these discussions have begun with numerous stakeholders.

“I don’t think it was any surprise to anyone that city council was not impressed that this happened,” she said on Tuesday.

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“There are some ideas on the table. I know that the Calgary Police Service has been working actively with our city in terms of coming up with ideas to partner properly when we have to do a call out for someone who’s in a position of vulnerability.”

She added they’re also engaging with businesses in the area to identify what their concerns are and if they have any additional ideas.

On the law enforcement side of the issue, Chief Constable Mark Neufeld wanted to make his position clear that they are trying to be as compassionate as possible.

“We’re not trying to throw all their things in the garbage or not treat them with dignity,” Neufeld told CityNews Calgary. “We don’t go and grab people out of tents, we make sure that there’s communication.”

When it came to cleaning up the encampment outside the Drop-In Centre that got so much attention, Neufeld said there were various issues starting with the size and also some other dangers.

“I’m not even sure that emergency vehicles were able to get through there,” he said.

“There were a number of issues with that, with the number of tents. And I think as those encampments sort of mature, I would say when they are there longer, you see more of a collection of debris, there’s public health issues that can tend to crop up. As you get into colder weather, you see people having to heat tents in those areas with different types of heaters so you can have fire hazards.”

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Neufeld added that while police in the city continue to work on call diversion so they do not respond to all incidents of social disorder, there are other incidents that are more likely to require their response. He said on Monday night officers responded to an encampment due to a sexual assault complaint.

“There’s things that go on, and we’ve seen it in other cities, that are also harmful to people that are struggling and harmful.”

Advocates say there’s little time to waste here, though, and this is all purely a survival response from vulnerable people in the city.

“We have a struggling population that throughout the pandemic has been in the fight or flight mode looking for food, water, clothing, heat as it has gotten cold,” said Chaz Smith, president of Be The Change YYC.

Smith said they regularly visit people living in encampments like these, and they also have social workers, mental health professionals, and people trained in first aid along with them.

He said this is part of the reason why there may not be as much need to have police respond to some of these scenes, as it could make the situation even worse.

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“When homelessness has primarily been criminalized in many ways, where your tents have been taken down, when you’re consistently moved out of places for loitering, the fear of law enforcement is very real. It creates a trauma response,” Smith said.

Ultimately, the main factor that advocates say has to be considered here is there need to be better options for people experiencing homelessness before resorting to the more heavy-handed approach.

“I’m afraid that camps will only continue to grow, with the limited resources and the accessibility of the current emergency shelter system,” Smith said.

“What we really need is housing with supports. And while we lack housing with supports, people will die and ultimately are freezing to death outside.”