Wesley St. is closed after encampment residents were evacuated. Advocates say Wesley St. campers are left with no supports. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

displaced

VIDEO: Wesley St. residents left with nowhere to go, dispersed into bushes and parks around Nanaimo

Dec 4, 2020 | 4:20 PM

NANAIMO — A sizable number of people living rough in a downtown Nanaimo encampment are now displaced into the bush.

Their former home on Wesley St. was cleared by City of Nanaimo staff and Nanaimo Fire Rescue after a fire on Thursday, Dec. 4 which destroyed several tents.

Support and outreach workers assisting Wesley St. residents on Friday, Dec 4 told NanaimoNewsNOW many of the people who’d called Wesley St. home spent the night in parks and bushes after being evicted.

Only 12 beds were available at St. Peter’s Church, according to shelter staff.

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Jason Harrison, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s mid-island branch, told NanaimoNewsNOW they worked to get people beds with friends, family or in the few remaining shelter spaces.

Harrison confirmed everyone who couldn’t find a bed Thursday night was left dispersed in the community.

When asked directly if the lack of available short-term beds and solutions from service providers and the government was a failure, Harrison said he couldn’t disagree.

Kevin Williams, who’d lived on Wesley St. for roughly six months, said he managed to find a hostel bed but was unsure if he’d be able to return for a second night.

“I have no idea what to do,” he told NanaimoNewsNOW. “Anything I did have I lost, many important things I had. I’ve got absolutely nothing.”

Many lost more than their tents after the fire and the ensuing remediation of the street.

Items and possessions not picked up by Friday morning were collected and placed into a dumpster.

Support workers said many didn’t realize their items would be tossed if they didn’t return to claim them.

A release from the City of Nanaimo on Friday claimed tent occupants were “provided opportunities to retrieve personal possessions in the afternoon of Dec. 3 and the morning of Dec. 4.”

Harrison said a priority of outreach teams working since the fire was to find supplies for those left without anything. It’s expected this will continue to be a priority as winter conditions set in around Nanaimo.

A statement from the Nanaimo Homeless Coalition said the tent fire on Wesley St. “is one example of how dangerous it is when someone is forced to live on the street.”

“The community unfortunately doesn’t yet have enough housing, shelter spaces and warming spaces for our community members who are struggling with homelessness.”

The statement said service providers and the Nanaimo Homeless Coalition hopes to fully debrief with the City as soon as possible to determine what the plan is for those who were impacted by the fire.

The encampment in the 400 block of Wesley St., directly behind the City’s Service and Resource Centre where a majority of staff work, existed for roughly one year.

It started with a few tents last winter and grew substantially in the summer.

City efforts to remove people once a day for cleaning were halted due to a provincial health order related to COVID-19.

A fire safety order was put in place in late October, with several tents removed several days later.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt