There is a petition with close to 700 signatures asking the City of Kingston to stop the planned encampment evictions at Belle Park next to the Integrated Care Hub (ICH). The petition was started by Mutual Aid Katarokwi-Kingston, a group that supports unhoused residents.

Clara Langley, a member of the Mutual Aid Katarokwi-Kingston, says the fear of evictions are very real.

“While we don’t have an inside scoop of a planned eviction on the part of the city, the history suggests because they’ve done larger evictions in the fall time, that one may be imminent…They’ve reenacted the encampment protocol, different parks around the city and smaller encampments there have already been evicted, there’s some grounds for it to happen here,” says Langley.

She adds that an eviction would be a matter of life and death.

“We’re in the midst of a drug poisoning crisis, the ICH has had a part in reversing over 600 opioid overdoses…We know the effect of eviction is to disperse people and push them further into the woods for shelter, this drives them away from life-saving services. It’s almost certain deaths would be a result of an eviction,” says Langley.

Resident Lacey McNeil has lived in the encampment for close to a year. 

“We’re all just trying to survive really, the hub helps us with our necessities like our food and water. We wouldn’t have it otherwise, we have our showers here, medical assistance here," says McNeil.

McNeil says she fears there will be nowhere to go.

“We’re going to be pushed out of here…There’s not enough beds in the shelter, here there’s 150 people and maybe 50 beds…They proposed a lot of help, but nothing has come through, a lot of promises and empty ones at that…everything the city promised to help us with…all that the hub is providing for us since the city hasn’t,” says McNeil.

The petition includes a letter signed by 58 residents. It talks about the support and safety that has been created at the encampment.

“The City will say there are shelter beds and other housing options. These beds and options do NOT meet our needs! Some of us cannot be in these options because we have pets, because we have been banned, or because we find shelter rules really restrictive. None of these options have the community and support we've created for ourselves, or the safety of ICH.”

Mutual Aid Katarowki-Kingston is also asking the city for more information.

“Council also refers often to a by-names list of people who are experiencing homelessness or need housing supports and they use this list to suggest with the increases there will be sufficient spaces for everyone, but the number of people who are on that list is not available to the public, we want to know why that’s not available to the public and whether the amount of people on that list has changed,” says Langley. 

She adds the city has a responsibility to provide alternative options that meet people’s needs.

“The available options are insufficient because they aren’t accessible or they have barriers to accessing them,” says Langley.

The Integrated Care Hub is located within District 11.

District 11 Coun. Rob Hutchison did not return CFRC's request for comment.

Listen to the full CFRC interview with Clara Langley and Lacey McNeil below: