Tents moved outside Calgary homeless shelter as outreach groups field cold weather calls

The Alpha House says its fielding between 60 and 80 calls per day related to the cold, while EMS have responded to 31 cold weather calls downtown since New Year's Day.

For the second time in two months, several tents — part of a homeless encampment outside the Drop-In Centre — have been removed, but the City of Calgary said those tents have been relocated to a safer place.

In a tweet on Wednesday evening, city officials said the tent relocation came after reports some the of tents blocked access to the shelter for emergency service vehicles.

“We are working with occupants to relocate the tents to a safer location,” the city’s tweet said. “Only tents blocking emergency vehicle access or encroaching on a roadway will asked to be moved.”

According to city officials, bylaw officers were careful when removing personal items from tents that appeared abandoned for “an extended period of time,” or if they were asked by the person to dispose of them.

It comes after tents were removed from outside the shelter in early December after safety concerns due to open flames and obstruction of access for emergency vehicles to the Drop-In Centre.

The removal of the tents by bylaw officers drew the ire of Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek, who said the practice is “not something we will stand for in our city,” and prompted a meeting with homeless outreach advocates and the city to find solutions.

According to Calgary chief bylaw officer Ryan Pleckaitis, this week’s response saw tents moved elsewhere in the area with supports offered to those living inside them amid the ongoing frigid temperatures.

“Ideally, we want people to move into the shelter system or into a treatment facility if they need that support… as opposed to residing in a tent outside, especially with the weather the way it’s been for the past few weeks,” Pleckaitis said.