Homeless encampments in Chatham are once again raising the ire of some residents.
Jim and Christine Prosser live near Tecumseh Park and have raised concerns with a recent homeless encampment on the Bandshell.
Christine said many Kiwanis Club members and other concerned neighbours recently requested that the municipality consider erecting permanent fencing around the Kiwanis Bandshell, but was told no by the municipality.
"Such fencing would discourage the encampments that have once again become a regular occurrence on the stage of the bandshell," Christine Prossersaid. "Other cities have installed such fencing in order to protect public property and to maintain the public nature of its parks and green spaces."
She said the bandshell is being defaced and vandalized every time homeless encampments are set up.
"Permitting these encampments in a public park designed for everyone in the community to enjoy is not a compassionate response to the obvious crisis of homelessness in our communities. It’s a clear abdication of civic responsibility," she said.
The Prossers also want elected officials to know how concerns of local residents are "so often ignored" as homelessness continues to grow in Chatham-Kent.
Mike Comiskey has lived near Tecumseh Park for 75 years and he said life has changed drastically when the homeless shelter was "forced" onto all the neighbours with "very little warning or collaboration."
He said the homeless shelter does not belong in a residential neighbourhood where there are schools and children.
Comiskey said he has to lock his garage and shed now or his property gets stolen, he has to chain down and lock the lawn furniture on his front porch to keep it from getting stolen, and all home deliveries now go to the back door because a front porch delivery nearly got stolen. He said his neighbour had to intervene and chased a man away or his delivery would have been stolen from the front porch.
Comiskey noted some homeless people at Tecumseh Park are sleeping, some are doing drugs, but mostly are just passing the time away.
The Prossers and Comiskey said the bandshell recently had tents set up, litter thrown everywhere, and graffiti all over the walls.
"This park was once peaceful and clean. Now it looks like a slum!" said Comiskey.
He lamented people doing drugs are passed out on the front lawn of the former court house directly in front of his house. Comiskey has also witnessed urination and defecation both at the former court house and at the bandshell in Tecumseh Park.
Comiskey also explained there are fights and screams in the streets at any hour of the day and fires near the homeless shelter that had to be extinguished by firefighters.
"In the middle of the night, my bedroom window has to be closed because someone is burning the plastic coating on copper wire creating a putrid smell," he said. "Driving at night is challenging. Homeless walk and bike with no reflectors or lights. They are often on the road and wearing dark clothing."
Comiskey noted one thing that stands out to him in particular is that he does not recognize any homeless person from Chatham and wonders where they're coming from.
The Minister at Chatham's First Presbyterian Church Mike Maroney agrees, telling CK News Today he's seeing a lot more new faces at the weekly Saturday morning take-out breakfast served every Saturday from 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Maroney said roughly 180 meals are served every Saturday to homeless people, adding he sees a lot of homeless people with mental health and drug issues.
Maroney said he had to put a fence around the entrance of the church because homeless people were camping out and starting fires to cook their drugs.
Melissa Carnell added the neighbourhood is in a state of disintegration and decay and the people living in the neighbourhood are no longer comfortable going outside because they're intimidated by the unpredictable behaviours of those wandering the streets.
"We have had to clean up bodily fluids on our property belonging to someone who came through our gate, unable to care for themselves," said Carnell.
She also believes the decay has occurred as a direct result of the municipality opening a shelter in her neighbourhood.
Chatham-Kent Director of Employment and Social Services Polly Smith told CK News Today the municipality is doing something about the Tecumseh Park situation, but it can be tricky if encampments are on municipal property due to case law that came from a ruling in the Region of Waterloo in January of 2023. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that the Region of Waterloo's attempt to evict encampment residents was a violation of their rights.
Smith said an encampment protocol is being finalized and tested now in Chatham-Kent, which involves offering other accommodations that are accessible to unhoused people and a plan for moving.
She added the need to vacate must be a significant and proven and could typically take weeks and multiple visits by service providers and enforcement to achieve.
Smith also said each complaint about the bandshell or any encampment is reviewed on a case-by-case basis and when possible and necessary, the people involved are asked or required to move.
She noted that if an encampment is on private property and the owner wants the person removed, they can call police as it is considered trespassing and officers will ensure the person leaves.
Police will also try to assist the person with options for a place to go and to allow them to call for assistance or collect needed items when possible, according to Smith.
"It is our obligation as a municipality to offer a person-centred approach and help the individual(s) find and accept a better solution versus forcing them to simply move from place to place," said Smith. "The right to housing is a human right that must be considered when determining whether to apply other laws and by-laws."
Smith said the bandshell matter is different from other public spaces, since it is somewhere that the public has a right to use for cultural purposes, adding the municipality will work to move citizens from the bandshell area to protect the broader public use of that area.
"The complaints about Tecumseh Park are well known to municipal staff and are taken seriously. While appreciated, suggestions made by the general public cannot always be put into action due to the many factors at play in these sensitive scenarios," she said.
Smith said the municipality acknowledges that the homeless crisis needs to be solved and is advocating for funding from upper levels of government and for meaningful change.
She said Chatham-Kent is also investing in programs and affordable housing across the municipality in an effort to improve the lives of those experiencing homelessness as well as the entire community.
Smith said Council will be getting an update on homelessness at their November 6, 2023 meeting.
As of Friday, 177 people were counted as unhoused, 47 were staying in emergency housing, and approximately 50 will be sleeping rough.
In their 2022 annual report, Chatham-Kent police said housing and homelessness continues to be a social issue and police remain committed in their effort to engage with members of the community to connect them with the appropriate services.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission reports that the punitive approach to encampments is failing and made five key recommendations. The number one recommendation is to stop the use of policing and law enforcement as a response to encampments, said police.
Police also said officers responded to 1,180 Mental Health Act-related incidents last year, apprehended 53 persons under the Act, and conducted 104 community assessments.