City to dismantle homeless encampment at Barrie Park

Claire O'Connell and her partner Jamie Savard are preparing to vacate their tent in Barrie's Berczy Park.

"I've never had to be afraid before, and I've been on the street for two years, and I've never been afraid, until now," O'Connell said.

O'Connell is one of at least two dozen people living in the park who must leave after the City of Barrie issued a three-day eviction notice.

"We are treated like garbage everywhere we go. We are told to leave even when we say we are just people like everyone else. We deserve to be loved and have the same human rights that everybody else has," O'Connell added.

The County of Simcoe and the Busby Centre are working together for those displaced.

Staff with Busby told CTV News the organization will add 20 beds to its shelter.

In a statement on Wednesday, the County noted that shelters would offer some accommodations and safer options than living outdoors, including health services and mental health and addiction support.

But those living in the park say that's not always the case.

"You can protect yourself better out here; being in the shelter, I had my clothing stolen, telephone stolen, even when I was sleeping, things were stolen," said Savard.

"The thing is, offering a shelter bed means nothing. The issue is, is it accessible to the individual? If the person has a pet, do they allow pets? If they have partners, do they allow partners? Do they have locked lockers? If they have an addiction, can they accommodate that?" stated Jeff Schlemmer, the executive director of the Community Legal Clinic Of York Region, which is working on similar cases in Hamilton and Waterloo.

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Mayor Alex Nuttall is adamant that the tents need to go.

"Parks are places where our kids are playing, where our seniors are walking, and families are hanging out, and they are not campgrounds. They need to be clean, free of needles and paraphernalia that pose a risk to young people," the mayor said.

Christine Nayler, who co-founded Ryans Hope, a not-for-profit organization which assists those struggling with addictions and homelessness in Simcoe County, said additional accommodations should have been provided to those forced to leave the encampment.

"This is going to result in a lot of harm to a lot of people who are already struggling in survival mode in this encampment, and that is our concern. I don't understand how the city can justify it. How is this going to be safer for anybody? These people will just go to another park, and the cycle just keeps happening again and again," said Nayler.

Those living at Berczy Park must vacate the area by Friday.