Whitehorse needs campsite downtown for people experiencing homelessness, advocate says

The executive director of Yukon advocacy group Safe at Home says the City of Whitehorse could help the housing crisis by providing an area for people to legally camp in the city. 

On Monday, Kate Mechan addressed city council to suggest that as an interim solution to a crisis she says is getting worse. 

"We're seeing an increase in families experiencing homelessness, a 58-per-cent increase in the number of people who are feeling like they have no other option but to potentially camp," she told councillors. 

Mechan said that there are at least 228 homeless individuals in Whitehorse, and she called on the city to take a more proactive approach by donating or setting aside land on a seasonal basis for them.

That would allow people who have no option but to camp to "do so with dignity and supports," she said. 

Currently, this kind of encampment would be illegal. 

"The city's bylaws don't allow camping in public open spaces," said city spokesperson Oshea Jephson. "Camping is limited to designated camping areas, like Robert Service Campground." 

A site at Robert Service Campground, just outside the city's downtown, is $36.75 per night.

Speaking to councillors, Mechan cited a 2020 report from the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. That report states that international human rights law prohibits governments from removing residents from encampments without meaningful engagement and identifying alternative places to live that are acceptable to them. 

Mechan asked councillors to recognize that many people are forced to camp for survival.

"We know that bylaw services is complaint-driven," she said. "It seems to prioritize the needs and safety of property owners and business owners over those who are made vulnerable through their experiences of poverty and oppression." 

On May 1, at least 20 residents who had been living at the Safe at Home Society's temporary housing option, the former Coast High Country Inn in Whitehorse, were required to vacate in order to allow for extensive renovations to the building. The goal is for the former hotel to offer more than 60 supportive housing units.

Patrick Lethbridge is a longtime Whitehorse resident who sometimes camps because of housing insecurity. 

"I'm couch-surfing, going from couch to couch and staying at the shelter if I absolutely need to, 'cause it's not really my favourite place to be," he said, referring to Whitehorse's emergency shelter at 405 Alexander.