Community meetings on Hamilton encampments are 'not a referendum': city

Hamilton's director of housing services says the community meetings the city is currently hosting on encampments are to inform people and hear their thoughts — not a referendum on what should happen.

"It's not a referendum on whether or not we should have encampments, but rather how do we do it in a compassionate and responsible way," Michelle Baird told CBC Hamilton on Monday.

"We simply do not have the affordable housing required to house people and it's not a solution that's going to be found overnight, so as much as people are speaking out, that doesn't mean that's the direction we're going in, and more importantly, it allows us to address things in the moment."

The three in-person meetings, two of which take place this week, allow residents to share their thoughts about Hamilton's encampment problem. An online survey is also open until June 30. 

City developing new encampment protocol

The consultation process comes as the city considers creating designated areas with social supports where people experiencing homelessness would be allowed to live in tents.

The city is also developing a protocol or set of rules for where people can live outside of sanctioned sites.

Baird said the city previously spoke to people living on the street and advocate groups. Now, there's a more general outreach with a few goals including:

• To have a better, community-wide understanding of the issues people living in encampments face, and the context of the situation.
• To present the proposed protocol and potential sanctioned encampment sites.
• To get public feedback to best serve everyone's needs.

The meetings have faced criticism from housing advocates who say the meetings sow misunderstanding and division. The first meeting took place at the Hill Park Learning Centre on the Mountain on June 19.

Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team (Hamsmart), which connects vulnerable residents to health services, said in a recent newsletter the meetings should be changed to centre the voices of people experiencing homelessness.

"We implore the City to re-frame the discussion so that they are providing the public with information on the housing crisis and actually facilitate community interventions around human rights ... which, again, are not debatable," the group said.

Baird said the meetings with the loudest voices won't hold any more weight than other steps in the process.

She also said she understands why the meetings "may or may not be a safe environment" for some to share their views, but pointed to the online survey as an option. She said far more feedback has come through that avenue, as opposed to community meetings.

Next meetings Tuesday and Thursday

In August, councillors will get a report back with the feedback and a recommended protocol from staff about how to proceed.

"At the end of the day, it's council's decision to make and they need to make that decision with the best information before them, not necessarily the most voices in a particular direction," Baird said.

The next community meeting on the topic is Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Hamilton Convention Centre. It will also be live-streamed on the city's YouTube channel and can be watched on Cable 14. The city said child minding for children ages 12 and under is available.

The Hamilton Encampment Support Network said it is hosting a forum outside the convention centre prior to the meeting where "encampment residents... will be speaking about their concerns, views and experiences" with housing.

The city's final meeting on the topic will take place at the Harry Howell Arena Community Room in Flamborough on Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.