Even with new shelter spots in Hamilton, barriers to leaving tents remain, say encampment residents

What Sierra Colvin wants this season is somewhere warm where she can stay with the people she trusts most — her community from the streets.

Colvin, 29, lives unhoused in Hamilton.

"I'd like to get off the street, especially in wintertime," she told CBC Hamilton on a bitterly cold day in early December. Colvin was visiting with friends on a sidewalk near City Hall and the Hamilton YWCA.

It can be a hard choice to decide between staying in an encampment with the people who support her and sleeping inside at a shelter, where genders are separated and there's not always enough space to house friends together. 

"If I'm in a shelter with all the people I have on these streets right now, I would actually really appreciate it," Colvin said.

In December, mayor Andrea Horwath said the city will be looking to put an end to tents in parks after a judge ruled Hamilton's previous encampment ban wasn't infringing on Charter rights. The city's approach centres on plans to accommodate more people in an expanded shelter system. 

"What our city is doing is trying to get to a place where we no longer have tents in parks," Horwath said.

But encampment residents say lack of availability isn't the only thing keeping them out of the shelter system.

On a recent visit to several encampments in downtown Hamilton with volunteers from the Substance Overdose Prevention and Education Network (SOPEN), around half a dozen residents told CBC Hamilton they face barriers to using shelters that include:

Colvin said being surrounded by community can sometimes be more important than a bed.

"Some of these encampments are warm, they're homey and they're able to actually [understand] you," she said.

In 2024, Hamilton council approved 272 new shelter beds, although only 107 are operational so far, according to the city's website as of Dec. 23. Yet to come are another 85 in indoor shelters and a planned 80-person outdoor site featuring tiny homes geared to couples and people with pets, which was initially slated to be ready in December but has faced several delays.

Once completed, the city will have 612 shelter beds in total, general manager of healthy and safe communities Grace Mater told reporters at a news conference in December. According to city data, there are 1,592 known individuals who are currently "actively homeless."

None of the encampment residents who spoke with CBC Hamilton in December knew about the new indoor shelter beds. Some had heard about the tiny homes but didn't know how to apply.