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City cleaning dozens of rough sleeper camps

Oct 23, 2018 | 10:00 PM

Red Deerians are being encouraged to continue reporting rough sleeper camps to City officials.

The City says it is focusing on cleanup efforts across the city in response to an increasing number of camps being reported over the last month.

In a release, The City says 83 rough sleeper camps were cleaned up during a pilot project between June – August, which resulted in connecting with 153 individuals about housing and 70 referrals to non-housing related social services.

Sixteen tonnes of debris and 1,005 needles were removed from green spaces between June 1 and August 30 and that staff spent approximately 1,343 hours cleaning up camps.

Turning Point and the Safe Harbour society provided outreach support to individuals living at 35 of the 83 camps cleaned up over the summer months.

“Community safety for all citizens is what matters most when it comes to ensuring our parks, trails and community spaces are safe, clean and accessible for all,” said City Manager Craig Curtis. “It is the result of joint efforts on the part of citizens, community partners and local agencies alike that we were able to connect with and have 153 individual conversations as part of the collaborative camp clean-up process.”

The City says camps are to be reported to the non-emergency RCMP/Bylaw complaint line at 403-343-5575. When reporting a rough sleeper camp, you may be asked for personal information such as your name and phone number so Community Peace Officers (CPOs) can follow up on your complaint and ensure they know where the camp is located.

When a camp is reported, CPOs go to the reported site and, when their investigation is complete, they issue a 24 hour eviction notice. The CPOs then work with City of Red Deer staff to clean up the area within 14 days, whenever possible.

The process to respond to rough sleeper camps is as follows:

– Citizens contact the RCMP/ Bylaw complaint line to report the camp.

– A Municipal Enforcement Officer is dispatched to the reported camp site, which is often vacant. 

– Once this work is complete, the issuing officer posts a 24-hour eviction notice, which contains social support services contact information.

– Municipal Enforcement then communicates with City of Red Deer staff, who are scheduled to complete weekly camp cleanups. 

This approach and process is aimed at preventing the displacement and reoccupation of rough sleepers within the park system by attempting to house people, City officials say.

“We will continue to balance the needs of all citizens as City staff and community partners respond to calls for rough sleeper camp clean-up including, but not limited to, needle debris and the need for housing and treatment supports,” said Mayor Tara Veer. “We strongly encourage citizens to report through the formal complaint line to ensure a timely response.”