Residents staying at new homeless encampment in Yellowknife asked to leave

A homeless encampment set up less than a week ago at a vacant lot near Sir John Franklin High School in Yellowknife will be gone by Monday.

About 15 people are staying at the encampment, at the corner of 49 Street and 52 Street in Yellowknife's downtown. It's the former site of Polaris Apartments, which burned down in 2015. The lot is owned by Yellowknife real estate developer Adrian Bell.

Craig Strachan, who is homeless, led the effort to set up the encampment there earlier this week. He told CBC the group is aiming to fully vacate the site by Sunday night, in order to comply with a request from Bell that they leave.

Bell confirmed this to CBC by email.

Yellowknife has seen indications of a large increase in homelessness since last year's evacuation, with some shelters reporting being at close to double their capacity this year. 

Shelter operators such as the Salvation Army are advocating for a new temporary shelter to be added in the city to take in overflow. There have also been other attempts to set up a tent encampment for homeless residents sleeping outside.

The encampment is set up with several tents, a propane stove for cooking which complies with Yellowknife's fire ban, and a communal "kitchen" area, with large jugs of water and a dish rack.

Strachan said many of the supplies have been donated by fellow Yellowknifers. Other supporters have brought food or drinks, he said.

"We've been getting a lot of support from some people. And other people are you, know, turning their heads against it, and some just don't like it," Strachan said.

Strachan said it will be difficult to move everything they have set up, but the group has already found a potential site for a new encampment, on nearby crown land, where he hopes they are less likely to be evicted.

Bell said by email he appreciates the effort to find a new spot for the encampment, and called it a "difficult situation for all involved."

"I'm liable should they get hurt or should they hurt others. Neighbouring residents are stressed out and are bringing me their concerns," he said, adding nearby residents have reported seeing encampment residents harassing passersby and using drugs.

Colton Migwi has been staying at the encampment, and has taken on the responsibility of keeping watch over the site during the day when many residents are out accessing services. 

He has been homeless since he was released for North Slave Correctional Facility in March, staying at shelters and with friends. But with shelters at capacity, and having overstayed his welcome with friends, he has been sleeping outside most of the summer.

"I didn't realize the struggle until I'm in it," he said. "Living this way is kind of sad, not too great."

Strachan said most of the residents at the encampment on 49 Street  were previously sleeping under a closed carport in an alley between the old legion building and the Discovery Inn. A group of homeless residents had been staying there for over three weeks before they were asked to leave around Wednesday.

"One or two bad apples kind of ruined it for everybody, between the vandalism and fights and stuff."

He said he wanted the new encampment to be somewhere that was out of the way, and at the same time close to downtown and visible to non-homeless Yellowknife residents. 

"I figured if we're going to be somewhere, we should be seen, just let the community know that we do have a voice and we're going to stand our ground," he said. 

"You know, housing is a problem in the city right now … right now, the shelters are full … some people ain't allowed in them, some people are banned."