As emergency calls to encampments jump dramatically, Abbotsford calls for more housing and detox beds

A road on one side, a railway on the other – and Abbotsford’s largest homeless encampment sandwiched in between.

The city, like so many other Lower Mainland communities, struggles with how to help those living on the streets.

“I was a gutter installer,” said one man who stays in a shelter at night, but seeks the quiet of a tent at what’s known as the Gladys encampment during the day.

“Then COVID hit and everything shut down. After COVID, I just didn’t recover,” he said.

“I used to have a job, but even working, it was still a struggle to find affordable housing,” said Brandon, another homeless man who spoke to CTV News.

“It’s very challenging. I wish I had a magic answer,” said Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens.

New numbers obtained by CTV News show the staggering volume of calls to fire and police linked to encampments.

The data shows the Abbotsford Police Department was called to the Riverside Road and Gladys Avenue corridors almost 4,700 times in 2023. It’s an increase of 73 per cent over the previous year. Abbotsford’s largest encampment is currently along Gladys Avenue.

“It is stretching the police services. You can’t deny that,” said Const. Art Stele, spokesperson for the APD.

“I’m well aware of the challenges. I get emails almost on a daily basis from individuals whose businesses are impacted,” said Siemens, who added that the city continues to search for solutions.

Stele said many of the police calls were to assist Abbotsford Fire Rescue which itself responded to 738 calls to encampments, costing the city more than $406,000.

“We want to make sure crews remain safe,” he said.

Siemens explained, “When our fire department gets called out, they’re getting called into some really interesting situations that are very unsafe.”

“In some of those encampments, we’re not sure who is in those encampments,” the mayor said.

“There are some very vulnerable people, but there’s also the criminal element that’s involved. It’s not like walking into a neighbourhood where you know who's registered and who lives in that home.”

Police said they also want to ensure the safety of vulnerable people living in the camps.

“We are trying our best to also protect those in those camps from persons that are infiltrating them," Stele said, adding that these non-residents are "taking advantage of a lot of these vulnerable people.”

Fortunately, while overall calls have jumped, the calls for violent incidents have declined, he said.

In 2023, the city spent more than $346,000 on cleaning up parks and public areas due to encampments.

Meanwhile, the long-promised new temporary shelter at the former Lonzo encampment site still has not opened, but work is underway.

But the mayor said Abbotsford needs more than just shelter space.

“We need more detox. We don’t have enough detox beds,” Siemens said.

In fact, the city said Abbotsford has no rapid access detox beds and there are only two dozen in the entire Fraser Health region.

“We have to move people on to detox. We have to move people on to making healthier choices because we’re condemning people to an early death,” Siemens said.

But he expects provincial help for the city’s homeless is on the way.

It can’t come soon enough for those desperate for change.

“If you’re out here and you can’t shower each day, you can’t have clean clothes, it’s impossible to get a job,” said Amanda who was at the Gladys encampment.

“There’s nowhere affordable left when the prices of rent are so high, it’s above your total income coming in,” said another homeless man.