Beleaguered Mayor Asks for Patience and Understanding in Wake of Community Frustration with Tent Cities
We are in the midst of the first serious pandemic in 100 years. A pandemic that has sickened millions since it was declared in mid-March and killed hundreds of thousands around the globe. In Canada, and in British Columbia we have been fortunate to have been largely spared the most devastating blows from this disease. In large part due to aggressive public health action to thwart the spread. On Vancouver Island, in the last seven weeks we've had 1 case diagnosed. We've been lucky - and yet, we also know that this pandemic isn't over, there will likely be a second wave at some point, and that we'll have to take measures again to ensure the damage is mitigated.
So why, exactly, after months of mostly remaining at home, would the Victoria municipal government sanction unmanaged tent cities in our local parks? Every other municipality in the Capital Regional District has not suspended their bylaws regarding camping in city parks (where the rule is a person can not set up before 7pm and must clean up by 7am). They all received exactly the same public health advice from the provincial authority. Yet, Victoria, saw fit to suspend its bylaw, and the predictable has happened. Perhaps even more disturbing, is that Victoria did not even see fit to spare its largest, most well known, and well used park from being inappropriately used. Beacon Hill Park, now has a large and apparently growing population of homeless who have decided to take up residence there. Many are down on their luck and seeking refuge - but some are aggressive, struggling with mental health, some are criminal, and some are severely drug addicted.
The park is not designed for camping and has several ecological sensitive and historically important areas. The park does not have adequate sanitation or hygiene facilities - and as a result there has been human excrement and drug paraphenalia that have been discarded inappropriately. Parks staff are now requesting bylaw accompaniment to do their jobs. The park has become dangerous and unwelcoming at a time when the park is most needed to serve its intended purpose for Victorians: a safe place to find recreation and enjoy nature.
In response a petition was started by Cynthia Diadick - a woman who had her life threatened and that of her dog threatened while walking through the park. In the few weeks since it was launched, it has garnered more than 11,000 signatures. At the time the issue returned to the council for consideration, it had more than 10,000 signatures - and yet, this council, has decided to continue to contravene the restrictive covenant placed on the park that limits its uses and decided to continue to permit 24/7 camping. Given this decision, we should expect the numbers of those calling Beacon Hill Park to grow in the weeks to come. We should expect further damage to the park. We should expect more crime in the surrounding area. We should expect to have a beloved park be off limits to far too many at a time when it is needed most and that is tragic.
So what does our mayor do? She pleads for patience and understanding. She begs for the issue of homelessness not to divide us - all the while acting to ensure that the homeless are where they'll make the biggest political statement: Beacon Hill Park. She's playing politics and putting health and safety of her constituents at risk at a time when we need her to stand up, and protect the health and safety of all Victorians (housed and unhoused) in the most appropriate way feasible. She's leveraging the situation to get an ever larger number of hotels bought by the province to "house the homeless" - volunteering to sacrifice her city, the city she has a duty to act in the best interest of as its mayor.
The thing is, Victoria has struggled with tent cities for more than 10 years. We have been failed by both Liberal and NDP governments - with the problem intensifying over the last 5 years. We are justifiably wary of this issue, and our strategies to date have failed to make progress. However, rather than reassess what we're doing, we're doubling down on housing first. We're doubling down on doing more of the same. Indeed the time for patience and understanding has long past.
We need to establish a comprehensive system to address this problem province wide, with each city in the province required to provide "it's fair share" of resources to help the most needy and the ability of cities to move people to where they can access the services they need. We need emergency shelter spaces so that we can enforce our bylaws that protect everyone, and in this time of pandemic, those spaces need to be safe, allow for physical distancing, and have appropriate access to sanitation and hygiene. We need to be able to address this issue (and demand funding is tied to being able to enable people to support themselves wherever feasible), and we need to put an end to tent cities and the social disorder they bring with them. The time for patience and understanding has long passed.
So why, exactly, after months of mostly remaining at home, would the Victoria municipal government sanction unmanaged tent cities in our local parks? Every other municipality in the Capital Regional District has not suspended their bylaws regarding camping in city parks (where the rule is a person can not set up before 7pm and must clean up by 7am). They all received exactly the same public health advice from the provincial authority. Yet, Victoria, saw fit to suspend its bylaw, and the predictable has happened. Perhaps even more disturbing, is that Victoria did not even see fit to spare its largest, most well known, and well used park from being inappropriately used. Beacon Hill Park, now has a large and apparently growing population of homeless who have decided to take up residence there. Many are down on their luck and seeking refuge - but some are aggressive, struggling with mental health, some are criminal, and some are severely drug addicted.
The park is not designed for camping and has several ecological sensitive and historically important areas. The park does not have adequate sanitation or hygiene facilities - and as a result there has been human excrement and drug paraphenalia that have been discarded inappropriately. Parks staff are now requesting bylaw accompaniment to do their jobs. The park has become dangerous and unwelcoming at a time when the park is most needed to serve its intended purpose for Victorians: a safe place to find recreation and enjoy nature.
In response a petition was started by Cynthia Diadick - a woman who had her life threatened and that of her dog threatened while walking through the park. In the few weeks since it was launched, it has garnered more than 11,000 signatures. At the time the issue returned to the council for consideration, it had more than 10,000 signatures - and yet, this council, has decided to continue to contravene the restrictive covenant placed on the park that limits its uses and decided to continue to permit 24/7 camping. Given this decision, we should expect the numbers of those calling Beacon Hill Park to grow in the weeks to come. We should expect further damage to the park. We should expect more crime in the surrounding area. We should expect to have a beloved park be off limits to far too many at a time when it is needed most and that is tragic.
So what does our mayor do? She pleads for patience and understanding. She begs for the issue of homelessness not to divide us - all the while acting to ensure that the homeless are where they'll make the biggest political statement: Beacon Hill Park. She's playing politics and putting health and safety of her constituents at risk at a time when we need her to stand up, and protect the health and safety of all Victorians (housed and unhoused) in the most appropriate way feasible. She's leveraging the situation to get an ever larger number of hotels bought by the province to "house the homeless" - volunteering to sacrifice her city, the city she has a duty to act in the best interest of as its mayor.
The thing is, Victoria has struggled with tent cities for more than 10 years. We have been failed by both Liberal and NDP governments - with the problem intensifying over the last 5 years. We are justifiably wary of this issue, and our strategies to date have failed to make progress. However, rather than reassess what we're doing, we're doubling down on housing first. We're doubling down on doing more of the same. Indeed the time for patience and understanding has long past.
We need to establish a comprehensive system to address this problem province wide, with each city in the province required to provide "it's fair share" of resources to help the most needy and the ability of cities to move people to where they can access the services they need. We need emergency shelter spaces so that we can enforce our bylaws that protect everyone, and in this time of pandemic, those spaces need to be safe, allow for physical distancing, and have appropriate access to sanitation and hygiene. We need to be able to address this issue (and demand funding is tied to being able to enable people to support themselves wherever feasible), and we need to put an end to tent cities and the social disorder they bring with them. The time for patience and understanding has long passed.
Hey Janice.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for supporting Stephen Andrew in the upcoming election.
You are a great example for me to show people that Stephen Andrew is the candidate for people who support regressive, non-solutions like criminalizing homelessness.
NIMBYs for Stephen Andrew!