With the city's encampment protocol reinstated, and over 100 unhoused people currently camping, according to Tom Greening, Executive Director of local supportive housing organization Home Base Housing, if everybody camping wants to use an emergency shelter, there are certainly not enough spaces available.

Greening adds it’s his impression the city is taking a graduated approach in enforcing the encampment protocol, with people camping in certain city parks being told to stop camping there, but there are other locations where they have not yet been told to move on. With the fall and winter coming, Greening says the city will need to find some additional space for people to stay.

“There’s no way by the fall or winter that the city or anybody for that matter will be able to build new affordable housing... What I would hope for is some additional overnight shelter beds prior to the cold weather arriving,” says Greening.

He adds the shelters have been having moderate success helping people find their own place. Kingston city council voted to reinstate the encampment protocol at the end of June, disallowing camping on city-owned property, and instead allocated funding to support other forms of housing. 

Listen to the full CFRC interview with Tom Greening below: