De-designated encampment site now vacant, Halifax says

More than a month after the University Avenue green space in Halifax was de-designated as an encampment site, the area is now empty.

Halifax Regional Municipality officials said three people were staying at the site as of Wednesday morning, but by the afternoon the location was vacant. Compliance staff told people on the green space to pack their belongings for storage or transportation and leave the area.

“Over the past several weeks, the municipality has taken a number of steps to provide support to those who had been sleeping rough in the University Avenue green space,” a release from the municipality says. “Municipal compliance staff and housing and homelessness coordinators have been on-site multiple times to offer supports and resources. This includes transportation of people and their belongings to provincially-funded indoor shelters and housing options, or to other municipal designated locations that are available, as well as temporary storage of belongings.”

Two of the three accepted offers of indoor shelter, but Andrew Goodsell didn't like the options.

“It doesn't make a lot of sense to me because I am working with the outreach workers and whatnot and was told that I woulnd't be forcefully moved from this location until they found me some kind of dignified living situation,” he said.

Goodsell said he left his belongings behind to walk his dog and when he returned he learned crews had collected his belongings.

"That's really hard to see," said Max Chauvin, director of housing and homelessness for the municipality. "It's horrible to watch somebody go through that, but we will be ready to return things that he had put aside in a tote."

The municipality announced the University Avenue space would be de-designated in late September over snow-clearing safety concern in the area. It handed out eviction notices to roughly 35 people staying in the location. Those people had until Nov. 1 to move on.

Despite the de-designation, multiple people stayed at the site for the past month.

The municipality says there are 62 tents and three trailers spread across the five remaining designated encampment sites (Cogswell Park, Lower Flinn Park, the Barrington Street green space, Geary Street and Green Road Park).

There are also nine potential encampment sites proposed by the municipality, including the Halifax Common and Point Pleasant Park.

On Tuesday, Halifax council narrowly voted against a motion brought forward by Mayor Andy Fillmore to eliminate the list of approved encampment sites.

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