When the rent went up, this London, Ont., couple thought a camper would be temporary. It's not

Kim Springer and her family never thought they'd be living in a camper in a gravel parking lot adjacent to a park in London, Ont.

Now the Springers — Kim, her husband and their grandson — are using their predicament to outline the difficulties connected to hidden homelessness and a lack of municipal supports.

They moved to a trailer after facing a big rent increase on the home that they had been living in for many years. The trailer is currently set up next to McMahen Park in the city's east end.

"The city could come tomorrow and say we need to tow this out of here. Where would they tow it? I have no idea," said Kim. "We would have to go with the trailer. We don't have anywhere else to go."

The City of London's Parks and Recreation Area bylaw states that unless authorized by the deputy city manager, erecting tents or shelters, or parking trailers for overnight accommodation is disallowed in park areas.

Recent estimates from the city put the number of unhoused people at 1,868 as of October — double the rate two years ago, when some 966 people were believed to be homeless in 2020.

While the federal government estimates 235,000 Canadians a year are homeless, researchers with the Homelessness Counts project figure the numbers are much worse because Ottawa's figures are based on figures from front-line agencies.

A spokesperson for the City of London told CBC News that it's doing what it can to help the Springer family.

"The City of London's co-ordinated informed response, and co-ordinated access teams are engaging with the family and exploring all options to support them," said Craig Cooper, director of housing and stability services.

"The city wants to ensure every individual and family experiencing or at risk of experiencing homeless gets the right support at the right time."

Not allowed in campgrounds or driveway

The Springers told CBC that they had rented a home for 15 years before new owners raised the rent last summer. At the time, Kim was retiring with a pension that was too small to cover the cost. 

"We put all of our resources together and bought our trailer. We thought we'd go to a campground until the fall and figure out what to do next," she said.

But the campgrounds, the family said, wouldn't accept their 31-year-old fifth wheel, saying it was too old, and they had to move from the mobile home communities.

For help, the Springers turned to a former neighbour, who allowed them to park the camper on their driveway. Soon after, bylaw officials with the City of London came to give notice they had to leave.

"Since then, we've been here [in the parking lot] living off our generator and our propane so that we can heat ourselves," said Kim.

Since landing in their latest location, the family's priority of finding a permanent and safe place to stay has not changed. They said they're constantly worried about being evicted and their safety in a public park. 

"We've been looking for options on Kijiji for more than nine months, since we got this trailer, looking and looking, and it's not easy," said Dan Springer, whose mobility scooter has been in storage since the family had to move.

Family grateful for the help

Local residents have not failed to notice the camper in the park and have tried to help. The Springers also tried to shore up support by setting up an online fundraiser.

At the same time, support groups like London Cares, the London InterCommunity Health Centre and London Coordinated Access, a municipal service that connects people experiencing homelessness to services, have knocked on the door. 

"We are better off than the people that are living in tents because they don't have the facilities that we do in here," said Kim, who is grateful for the help.

"There should be some place in every city where people like us can go when they're having hard times so they can get back on their feet and move on."

Those who are struggling to find housing are encouraged to contact the City of London at 519-661-HOME (519-661-4663).