Volunteers clean up homeless camp outside Chilliwack, amid environmental worries
A large Fraser Valley homeless camp in an environmentally sensitive area has been cleaned-up by volunteers.
But there is growing concern about the impact of similar camps on rivers and creeks, as well as the rising number of homeless people.
Volunteers recently converged on the camp, hauling out around 6,800 kgs. of garbage.
“It was between 15 to 20 people living here in their own temporary made sheds,” explained volunteer Adila Shaukat of Streams Foundation Canada.
But the camp, which sits on Crown land just outside Chilliwack’s boundaries, recently caught fire and all but a couple of squatters abandoned the site, leaving their belongings behind.
Shaukat said the worry is that the camp is located alongside a river. When the spring melt begins, the area is flooded and garbage ends up in the waterways.
“We want to clean up before the water covers the area and takes all the garbage with it," Shaukat explained.
“We will lose all of our salmon if we don’t take care of it.”
Just a few weeks ago, volunteers with the same organization cleaned up a larger encampment along the Chilliwack River. In that case, they pulled out almost 13,000 kg. of garbage and 1.5 metric tonnes of metal.
“It was very close to the Chilliwack River and the water currents were already touching the garbage and all the leftover stuff there,” she said, emphasizing the urgency of that clean-up operation.
In Chilliwack, homelessness is on the rise.
“It’s definitely growing,” said Scott Gaglardi, the executive director of Ruth and Naoimi’s.
“At the last count, in 2017, there was around 300 (homeless people). So we’re anticipating 450 to 500 (during the next count),” he explained.
Tom Snell, 35, spent the past year-and-a-half living on the street in Chilliwack.
“It was definitely cold and dangerous,” he said. “I have a friend who lost a part of their foot from frostbite.”
He said living on the streets in the winter was particularly difficult.
“I’d spend nights outside shivering cold and in the rain. It sucks. It really sucks,” he said.
Snell said after a car accident, he was unable to work and ended up living in his car. Before he knew it, he was on the street.
But he’s grateful to have recently moved into housing.
“It’s really nice knowing when it’s cold, I have a place I can go…my stuff is safe.”
Ruth and Naoimi’s offers 100 beds in two shelters, which are always full. During cold weather, they also run an emergency shelter.
Gaglardi said there continues to be a lack of affordable housing.
“And the more street-entrenched a person is, the harder that journey is to get into housing. So to have people who can walk with them, it’s not just dropping them off at the door of a house, it’s making sure some of the skills and learnings, that you have that relationship,” he explained.
Back at the camp, volunteers continue to work with the remaining campers.
“This environmental issue is the by-product of homelessness,” said Shaukat.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.