It was moving day for a group of people who the city of Barrie forced off municipal land.
For several months now, nearly a dozen homeless people have set up camp near Diamond Creek and had no intention of packing up and leaving, despite an eviction notice from the city.
“It’s safe, we’re numbers here and take care of one another,” said Tammy Perrin, who chose to live at park instead of a shelter.
However, it’s illegal to camp and live at any municipal owned land in Barrie. The city says this is not a rare occurrence.
“We have people that are travelling through that we locate on different areas, we have people that are backpacking throughout the country and unfortunately they just show up in certain wooded areas,” said Tammy Banting, manager of by-law services for the City of Barrie.
Some people say they don’t want to live here, but don’t have a choice. A man named Whitey told CTV News he has the money for rent, but can’t find a land lord willing to rent an apartment to him.
“It’s not the way I want to live, but I’ve got to make the best of it,” he said.
By mid-afternoon the group packed up, only to move to a new spot not too far away.
The city say people usually leave without any issues, but often set up camp nearby the next day.
The city also says it has a number of services in place to help these people find a place to live, but many say they don’t want the help.
