Barrie, Ont. workers dismantle downtown encampment amid state of emergency

City workers have begun dismantling tents along Mulcaster Street in downtown Barrie just two days after the mayor declared a state of emergency.

City workers have begun dismantling tents along Mulcaster Street in downtown Barrie, Ont., on Thursday morning, just two days after the mayor declared a state of emergency to address encampments.

There is a flurry of activity as outreach workers assist the more than two dozen people take down tents and gather their belongings.

“Notice was given yesterday morning,” Mayor Alex Nuttall said. “This morning, we had trespass orders going out and, obviously, we have workers there offering help, support, trying to get folks to accept shelter beds or other types of beds or spaces to move forward.”

The city blocked off a section of Mulcaster Street for the cleanup that included bobcats, dump trucks and several garbage bins.

Brian Shelley, CEPO with the United Way Simcoe Muskoka, said the issue is far more complex than encampments.

“There are far too many people without homes, without access to safe, stable housing. What we have to understand is that encampments themselves aren’t the issue - they are a symptom of the issue. The issue is a lack of housing, a lack of affordable and deeply affordable housing.”

The County of Simcoe issued a release Thursday stating its outreach teams had engaged with 44 people living in the tents along Mulcaster Street, noting 23 have since been relocated to housing and shelter options, and the remaining individuals were matched with spaces “should they be willing to accept the offers.”

The County has secured an additional 161 spaces to support encampment enforcement “and prepare for the colder weather.” This includes 69 rooms at three hotels to support those with family and pets, 20 beds at a seniors’ retirement facility, 20 apartments through head leases for long-term supportive housing programs, and 52 beds in modular facilities for overnight shelter.

“We really enhanced our outreach services and now operate seven days a week with very much extended hours,” said County of Simcoe’s Housing and Homelessness Director Andrew Scavarelli. “These individuals are being supported, not only through the outreach providers themselves, but also through client transport.”

Additionally, the county said its waiting on permits to install and open modular housing, which would support another 56 beds.

According to county data, there are 720 individuals experiencing homelessness in the city who are outside of the shelter system.

In an interview on Wednesday, the mayor said help would be offered to those willing to take it, and for anyone unwilling, it’s time to go.

“If you’re not willing to get help and you’re not willing to move out of a tent and into a space that we have available for you, then it’s time to move out of Barrie to somewhere else that accepts that type of behaviour,” he said.

Twenty-four hours later, Nuttall remained firm in his zero-tolerance stance on anyone planning to return to the area.

“If they don’t take the space today and the help and support today, they’re going to go somewhere else,” Nuttall said. “And then we have to go and find them wherever they are and do the same thing over and over again. The reality is, if they want to do this somewhere else, that’s on them.”