Dangerous Abbotsford encampment being shut down, new shelter promised to residents

After years, Abbotsford’s most dangerous homeless encampment is being vacated, the province announced Tuesday.

The camp, known as Lonzo, is on provincially-owned land and has long been an ongoing source of concern for police, fire services and the community.

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says that once the encampment is vacated, construction will begin on a new 50-bed shelter that will be temporarily located on site.

People living in the encampment have been notified they must leave by June 26.

Everyone at the encampment will be offered shelter and temporary storage for belongings.

Officials say there are currently only about 15 people living at the camp. At one point there was more than 100.

We know that sheltering in encampments is not safe and our community has struggled to provide adequate support services for the vulnerable people located in this area,” said Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens.

He explained Lonzo camp “has been a real challenge, especially with the fires…some of the criminal activities, the preying off the most vulnerable, so there was layers of complexity that became quite a challenge to the city and nearby residents."

Paul Shearer, 79, has been living in the camp for about four months after losing his job. He said it’s not where he wants to be.

“I’d be out of here tomorrow if I had a place to go,” said Shearer, who’s been living in an older RV at the encampment.

He said the camp is “terrible.” Adding, “I’m not comfortable at all.”

He said so far, he has not been offered housing.

Carlie, who didn’t want to give her last name and says she battles addiction, has been at the encampment for three years.

“Being in a shelter after you’ve been out here for so long, it’s hard having rules and everything,” she said.

She has been offered space in a shelter and said Tuesday she was planning to take it. But she doubts all the campers will be willing to move.

“Some people will refuse to leave. Most of them will,” she said.

CTV News asked Kahlon if police would be called in if campers refuse to leave.

“It’s hypothetical, and so it’s hard to say exactly what will happen. I just know the first step is offering them alternative locations to be, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

Lonzo is known as Abbotsford’s most violent homeless camp, but there are currently nine encampments entrenched in Abbotsford, seven of them on land owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

According to an Abbotsford spokesperson, “The city has repeatedly asked for assistance in addressing these high-risk sites with little to no response.”

Abbotsford South MLA, Bruce Banman, remains critical of the province for taking too long to take action.

“We need much better than this. It’s better than nothing, but not by much,” the BC United MLA said.

“We have to be taking this a lot more seriously than we have been to help the most vulnerable in our society,” he said.

Construction of the new shelter is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. Once complete, the shelter will operate for up to 18 months while a permanent shelter location is secured.