Concerns over council’s encampment location guidelines [Video]

On the frontlines of London, Ont.’s homelessness crisis, council’s recent decision to further restrict the places where encampments are permitted is causing concern and confusion.

John and Elyse are outreach workers that offer support and basic needs to Londoners in encampments on behalf of Ark Aid Street Mission.

Two days after council extended the setback distances beyond the recommendations of experts in the Whole of Community Response to Homelessness, the outreach team is still determining the impact on specific encampments they serve.

“It’s even [fewer] places for a community that’s already told they don’t belong,” Elyse told CTV News. “So they are told to move, move again, move again. That can’t create stability.”

John added that the overlapping restrictions make it hard to tell people where to move their tents to avoid violating the new guidelines, “We don’t have a definitive answer where to move them, you know what I …