Local health centre provides comment after being listed on eviction notice

The notice to evict residents from the Victoria Street North and Weber Street West encampment went up Monday, with Sanguen Health Centre listed as one of the resources to call for questions about the notice. 

Only a few hours after the placing of the notice, Sanguen tweeted it was “not part of the discussion around the eviction order,” and only found out about it at the same time the public did. 

Since that tweet, Sanguen had a meeting Monday night with the region and other partners. 

“The meeting was really just to determine how we can best continue to move forward and support the community as they go through this transition,” said Simone Morrison, manager of outreach, education and prevention at Sanguen. 

When asked about the confusion surrounding the notice and Sanguen's tweet, Morrison told CityNews 570, “We're willing to be part of system level changes, and we are wanting to collaborate with our partners, agencies and community supports to just really come up with solutions to move forward for the people experiencing the eviction.” 

Morrison emphasized the main concern for Sanguen is the well-being of the homeless individuals, “Our concerns really lies with the people experiencing the eviction, what are they going to do, where are they going to go from here, and are they going to be okay.” 
 
Sanguen has been providing outreach support for the encampment at Victoria and Weber since the beginning, providing a variety of supports five times a week, and will continue to provide those supports after individuals are evicted.

Morrison said the biggest concern for Sanguen and outreach workers is the lack of resources and mis-perception from the community on the homeless individuals and the encampment. 

“I think that there's an overall perception within the community that there are available housing options and shelter space, which is not the case,” said Morrison. 

She added that the resources need to catch up with the needs especially when it comes to more flexible and transitional housing. 

Morrison said, “The general feeling, what Sanguen outreach workers are getting from encamped residents after the posting of the notice, is fear and uncertainty.” 
 

To be clear, Sanguen was not part of the discussion around this eviction order. We found out about this notice as the general public did, by reading this sign. We have a meeting with the Region today and hope to gain some clarity then. We will share info as we receive it. pic.twitter.com/TO6nZ314OG

— Sanguen Outreach (@SanguenOutreach) June 6, 2022