Former homeless man urges city to set up managed encampment

Claudomier Bighetti lived in homeless camps on and off for more than 10 years.

“During that time, I was involved in gangs, selling (and) using drugs. I did what I thought I needed to do to survive. I know how vulnerable people have to make choices to stay alive on the streets,” Bighetti told members of the City Council's Public Works Committee on Tuesday.

After getting sober, finding a home, getting a job and getting married in the past two years, he came to City Hall to share his thoughts on how the city could best help the people in the camps.

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In September, Winnipeg city council approved a policy to ban homeless encampments in many public spaces, including around schools and day care centers.

Bighetti supports the city's new policy to ban camping in many public areas, including around schools and day care centers. However, he said his support was contingent on adding “managed encampment to housing.”

“I have seen how the lack of safe places of support creates cycles of violence, theft and instability. Simply moving people around does not solve these problems. Managed camp sites where people can have consistent access to (support) … provide a path from survival mode to recovery and stability,” Bighetti said.

Such a facility would have security and fire protection services, portable toilets, running water, tents and heaters. People who remain in these premises will need to develop a housing plan.

Bighetti, who now works as an outreach worker for the homeless in St. Boniface Street Links, said he broke into a business one day, then waited for police to come and arrest him, all in hopes of finding addiction treatment.

He said he would explore the option of a managed encampment if it were available.

In September, the City Council approved a policy banning encampments from playgrounds, swimming pools, spray pads, recreational facilities, schools, day care centers, adult care facilities, medians, traffic islands, transit shelters, bridges, docks, piers, railroad tracks and railroad crossings. They are also prohibited when “there is a life safety concern” and anywhere they may pose a hazard or obstruct the movement of vehicles or pedestrians.

On Tuesday, Bighetti was one of several members of the St. Boniface Street Links, who called on councilors to couple the policy with a managed camp and housing project.

“I think we need to think about a way forward that … protects the public and at the same time protects the interests of those who live without protection,” Marion Willis, executive director of Street Links, told the committee.

Outreach efforts will be focused on the site, which initially should have no more than 20 tents, she said.

“When you bring people into a designated area, a managed encampment in an apartment complex, you're creating controlled areas, you're dealing with public safety issues, you're dealing with housing issues, you're dealing with mental health issues… and addiction,” Willis said.

Without that space, Bighetti said he fears encampment bans will force people to take desperate measures.

“People will move into stairwells, into parks, into apartments where there is a lobby,” he said.

The city protocol will go into effect on November 17th. The ban will remain in effect permanently in these “sensitive” areas. Enforcement will also be prioritized at encampments at all other City facilities during daylight hours, from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.

On Tuesday, the Public Services Committee approved a policy supporting the ban but did not act on calls for a managed encampment.

Graph. Vivian Santos, chairwoman of the committee, said the city still has to consider many details about the implications of such a facility, including who would pay for it.

“The dialogue with the province is still ongoing,” Santos (Point Douglas) said.