Friday in Memorial Park began with cold weather and steel fences as the City of Greater Sudbury staff teams moved in to remove the last few people from the Memorial Park encampment.
As stated in the Greater Sudbury Encampment Response Guide prepared by Iain De Jong, a posted warning sign and flyers were given to those living in the park on March 15 to inform them that the park would be closed to them on April 1; that after 12 p.m. on that day, any belongings left in the park would be disposed of and that beyond that, the city’s municipal law enforcement officers will enforce the removal of those who plan to set up a tent or structure in the park.
The announcement also included the closure of the encampment on the grounds of 199 Larch St, near the warming centre.
Though the city has housed many people living in the park, there were some remaining, and the city’s director of children and social services, Tyler Campbell, told Sudbury.com that there were approximately 14 people still living in encampments.
Evie Ali of the Go-Give Project said that number is likely higher. She declined to offer a specific number in order to protect the tents and encampments that have yet to be found.
By 11 a.m. on Friday, Memorial Park was lined with steel fences, each at least seven feet high. They ran the length of the walkway that divides the park, closing off the playground that housed the largest tent-like structure in the park, as well as alongside Medina Lane, on the far side of the tents that cropped up there in the last month.
Kevin Kasaboski was packing his things while the fences were put in place in front of him.
He has been living in a tent in Memorial Park for about a month, he said. On Thursday night, he was robbed. Last week, someone took his eight-year-old dog, Pinchie, a chihuahua/pug mix.
Kasaboski had to pack all his items and get out of the park before noon; he planned to head off to another area, “near Notre Dame,” to set up his tent again.
He has met with outreach workers since he set up in the park and had been forced to leave his apartment as it was deemed “uninhabitable,” he said. Kasaboski feels his tent in the park was better, safe and healthier for him than his previous place.
He has had nothing but an amazing experience with outreach, as well as everyone helping him get though this time in his life, he told Sudbury.com, saying he is grateful for all the help he has received. He then continued packing all his worldly possessions into garbage bags.
Ali and her husband Ali Farooq were on site with the Go-Give Project volunteers and several other outreach workers helping those in the park pack their items and ensure they had everything they needed.
One of their clients who had been living in the park for six months was on their way to the hotel that the city has been using as bridge housing, a way to keep people off the street until more housing can come available. The hotel is covered by provincial funding.
Ali said that the Off the Street Shelter has been “extremely under-occupied.” There are 35 beds at the shelter, run by the Canadian Mental Health Organization, and the city confirms there have been just under 20 beds available each night. Outside of commonly cited issues such as fear of violence or preference to be up at night, Ali said she is not quite sure why the shelter is not being used.
“We've already seen encampments popping up again, in some places we saw them last year around the community,” she said. “So we know that encampments are going to be a really big thing again, whether or not they're in Memorial Park, that they'll be a problem.”
Ali said that there are already 11 new people on her list of clients in need, people who are homeless and have arrived in Sudbury from out of town.
It will be more difficult for outreach workers to find some clients now that they have been dispersed from the central downtown location, Ali said, even with their extensive clients lists and nightly patrols of the downtown and area between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. it can be difficult to keep track.
She said they also frequently have calls to their 24-hour urgent response line.
“We get a lot of calls from residential neighbourhoods saying, ‘Oh, I just noticed a tent on this trail here, could you check it out’ or, ‘I think there might be a tent in my backyard, would you mind coming and take a look,’ and we've done that probably about seven, eight times over the past year, just through residential phone calls alone,” said Ali.
She also noted that those who have been housed are suffering from isolation without support, and that those who use substances are at greater risk when using by themselves.
“We've had three ‘housed’ overdoses since January,” said Ali. “And that's been very eye-opening, because it's also the first year that we've started going into homes.”
Most of all though, Ali said she is concerned for what those in the park went through on Friday, and in the days and months leading up to the eviction. Indicating one of Go-Gives clients in the process of packing up, Ali said she is worried about what people will do once night falls and they’re alone.
“There's no sort of courtesy for what they’re going through today,” she said on Friday.
Ali said the woman, like others forced out of the park on Friday, was caught up in the whirlwind of what was happening. “It’s all happening so fast,” the client said.
Ali fears for her when she is alone tonight, left to deal with what happened.
“Tonight, when she's in her room by herself, you can guarantee that's all gonna come down on her,” said Ali. Then, gesturing to the workers, she said, “these guys will all be at home drinking their tea or in their warm beds and not giving it a second thought.”
Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com. She covers the diverse communities of Sudbury, especially the vulnerable or marginalized, including the Black, Indigenous, newcomer and Francophone communities, as well as 2SLGBTQ+ and issues of the downtown core
