Passionate delegations heard about homelessness at regional council, Soper Park evictions hot topic

A lengthy regional council meeting Wednesday night heard numerous voices from the community, about the issue of homelessness in our region, specifically in Cambridge.

This comes as dozens of residents were evicted from Soper Park Wednesday afternoon.

Many residents were in the park, after being evicted from 150 Main Street last month.

Ashley Schuitema with Waterloo Region Community Legal Services was one of the delegates at the meeting, receiving applause from the audience in council chambers after she shared her concerns.

She brought up one woman’s story.

“When I asked her what she would do if she was evicted from Soper Park, she said ‘I have no clue, we have nowhere to go, we keep getting kicked out of every place,’ and she told me that her biggest fear is that she ‘is going to freeze to death because it is getting so cold at night.'”

Councillor Doug Craig responded to Schuitema, noting he believes homelessness is not just a municipal issue, but also requires more funding from federal and provincial governments.

He also cited the numerous safety concerns at the 150 Main Street encampment, “There was 259 police occurrences there, great concern and a lack of safety in the community and in the business community.”

Laura Pin is a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, with expertise in housing policy and homelessness. She feels as though resources are being wasted, evictions are being rushed, and it’s unfair to the outreach workers trying to help residents.

“These types of eviction orders issued with short-term notice, take away from the important work of these workers and actually securing appropriate housing for people experiencing homelessness. Instead, people are rushing to pack up and move to another site where their presence will be criminalized. I find these types of orders are contrary to both a human-centered, as well as a services first approach to homelessness.”

Another comment coming from Marjorie Knight who is an outreach worker in Waterloo Region.

“I want you to remember that I was a homeless person, and when you make those decisions you remember that, because it is not abstract, there are people with families and feeling and they all belong here.”

Audience members in the regional council chamber gallery responded to a few of these delegations with applause.

The full meeting and comments can be heard here.