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Squamish Helping Hands has issued a statement after two recent incidents in the encampment located behind Under One Roof at 37871 3rd Ave.
See the statement below:
“Squamish Helping Hands does not manage the encampment but is working with the Squamish RCMP to address safety for its team, volunteers, and participants given the encampment’s proximity to the organization’s building. The mandate and funding of the organization are dedicated to individuals living in the transitional housing units and people staying in the emergency shelter.
“By nature, encampments are not safe places to live, and the safety of our participants, staff, and volunteers is always our highest priority,” says SHHS executive director Lori Pyne. “Our team provides basic survival supplies, like food, blankets, and clean clothes, to encampment residents to keep people alive, but our resources are being stretched thin as we continue to try to meet the growing need.”
Encampments are caused by many different reasons, including the accelerating cost-of-living, substance use disorders, and the lack of services for individuals experiencing mental health crises or complex diagnoses. A recent Point-in-Time Homeless Count indicated that there were at least 125 unhoused people in Squamish.
“Encampments have become an unfortunate reality in our community, like many others across Canada and the world,” said Pyne. “While we are doing the best with what we have, this is a complex and challenging issue without simple solutions. Any and all plans for new housing to address this issue must be grounded in a deep understanding of the underlying causes of encampments and include community-led solutions to find appropriate and safe locations to be successful.”
I appreciate the emphasis made here on participant, staff, and volunteer safety, and the difficult realities the UOR team faces daily while providing survival supplies to those in encampments. A solution needs to be made, one that treats people with dignity while ALSO respecting the livability of Squamish residents and businesses. It needs to be implemented carefully with expert and community input (and not the sole decision of Housing BC or our town council). Hopefully there will be more community engagement on this.
Who’s protery is the encampment on? They should be the one liable to clean it up.
Encampments are a problem all across Canada. Until laws are changed and we take a conservative approach, nothing will be done. Stop the Crime. Stand up to what is wrong and get these people the help they need even if they don’t like it. Otherwise jail them for loittering.