Why cities struggle to respond to B.C.'s ongoing tent encampment problem

Coquitlam and Abbotsford are just two B.C. cities where dozens of people are trying to survive outside in tents, holding on and hoping for better.

"Why do I live here?" said Ledora Napoleon from the tent encampment at Abbotsford city hall. "Because it's so hard to find housing in Abbotsford."

She last lived in conventional housing seven months ago, says she's been evicted several times and faces discrimination because of being on disability or income assistance.

"I feel like I've been blacklisted," she said, acknowledging living in a tent encampment is her best option at present.

Tent encampments in B.C. appear to be an unsolvable, circular problem that pits concerns over public safety and access to public spaces against the support and resources needed to provide housing that's appropriate for vulnerable people, many of whom have complex needs.

Some people favour forcibly breaking up camps with the support of the courts, but serial dismantling most often has the same encampments relocate. Others call for patience to keep campers safe in the camps until they can be paired with supportive housing that addresses the root causes of homelessness, such as poverty, toxic drugs, racism and colonialism.

Abbotsford's mayor says the city is trying to get it right, prioritizing the rights and needs of campers.

The tent encampment in Abbotsford is, in part, a protest over the city's history with unhoused people. A decade ago, chicken manure was spread in an attempt to move campers along.

Ross Siemens acknowledges past decisions haunt perceptions in the community.

"Yes, I'm still dealing with some of that aftermath," said the mayor. "That's not who we are as a city, and it never has been."

Siemens says the city uses the resources it has, such as bylaw officers, police and firefighters, to ensure public safety at the site and support outreach workers.

Campers, though, want a designated space on unused city land where they can stay indefinitely with facilities such as potable water and appropriate washrooms.

"So we're going to stay here as long as it takes to get awarded that piece of land," said Abbotsford city hall tent encampment resident Jenny Robbins. "We're all together. We take care of each other, and then we don't have to be in anyone's way." 

Municipalities like Abbotsford and Coquitlam, which has had a tent encampment outside its shelter on Gordon Avenue for the past six months, say their focus is to find the funding to pay for the help campers need.