Municipality tears down shelter under the bridge

By Bruce Corcoran bruce@chathamvoice.com

Following months of occupation by a cluster of Chatham-Kent homeless people under the Third Street Bridge, they were suddenly gone last week.

The makeshift shelter disappeared shortly thereafter.

The shelter, comprised of tarps, palettes and even old road signs, had stood since the middle of winter, while the homeless occupation under the bridge began earlier than that. The squatters also had fires under the bridge. There are places where the once-white concrete is clearly scorched by flames.

Mayor Darrin Canniff confirmed the shelter was pulled apart and hauled away on May 9.

“It was a joint venture between a lot of groups. They worked with the individuals living there and got them housed,” he said. “It wasn’t an ejection. But it was a safety issue.”

Polly Smith, director of employment and social services for the municipality, said the timing of the unsightly shelter’s removal and the weekend visit by Prince Michael of Kent was purely coincidental.

“Sometimes things just work out,” Smith said. “Our priority is that people’s rights are protected and they are safely housed.”

Smith said the makeshift shelter was uninhabited when the clean-up team came May 9 to remove the shelter.

“There was nobody staying there. We were able to clean up what was left behind,” she said.

Smith confirmed the moves were voluntary, as the people who had opted to live under the bridge were given opportunities to relocate. She added such efforts can take time.

“Anyone who is living in an encampment and on public land is given an opportunity to live elsewhere,” she said. Continued on page 4