Photo credit: Barrie Today
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttal says his letter to Premier Doug Ford, asking for help with the city’s homeless encampments, is already bearing fruit.
He said after a council meeting on Wednesday night, “I’ve already spoken to members of (the Ontario) cabinet about what’s in our letter. There’s going to be ongoing conversations about how to address these issues. I think that part of what they’re awaiting to see is the results and the number of individuals that aren’t taking support and help, and what that means.
“We’ll continue to provide that information to the province, and hopefully, at some point, we’ll see movement on both these federal and provincial levels with regards to the ability to have compassionate interventions.”
Nuttal declared a state of emergency on September 9 to deal with local homeless encampments.
People in encampments on Mulcaster and the surrounding streets were issued notices of action on September 10. They were given a day to vacate. Trespassing notices were issued on September 11 to anyone who had not made an effort to leave and accept the accommodations or services offered to them.
The homeless encampments, tents, and all, were then dismantled.
Efforts to relocate individuals from the Mulcaster Street homeless encampment last week resulted in outreach teams and HART of Simcoe County officials speaking with 44 people. 36 individuals relocated to other spaces. At the end of the day on September 11, eight individuals from the Mulcaster encampment had declined offers of shelter space and moved out of the encampment enforcement area.
